Bike29

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2008-07-30T21:34:00.001-04:00

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Rain, upcoming events and my $.02 on the Maxxis Ardent

2008-07-29T08:22:00.004-04:00

The weather here has been monsoon like to say the least. June featured 24 days of rain, some of it quite heavy. July has been trying to catch up. We were lucky with the Festival, a week of dry weather that held on until the very last day of the event. Then it stayed rainy.
This last week we had 12" of rain!
Needless to say, the riding here is quite poor. Even Perry Hill has succumbed to the relentless rain. The lower trails, which are still quite fun by most standards, typically stay pretty dry due to the sandy nature of the soil, but now have some really nasty spots of standing water. Everything up high is closed. Slippery rocks and ledgy terrain is not so much fun when the ground is this wet, not to mention downright unsafe.

The Pittsfield 666 Race has been postponed until August 23rd and 24th due to the soggy nature of the ground. We were to be providing neutral tech support during the race.

There is a Fisher demo event at Catamount this Wednesday. If you haven't had an opportunity to check out a Hi Fi or Suprfly, this is your lucky day. You will be able to try out these fine bikes on real mountain bike trails.

Fool's Gold is August 16th and 17th, and DA and I will be there for the Bike 29 Gathering of the South East. This should be a fun event, not only is it a 50/100 mile race, but a festival too. We will be handing out prizes for "blingiest","lightest", "ugliest", and "most creative set up" for anyone attending who is lucky enough to be riding a 29er. A road trip is always fun, and we'll be swinging through Asheville NC on our way down to check out the magic that Industry 9 makes.

Now, you have read Mandy's review on the Maxxis Ardent. We have very different riding styles and very different tastes when it comes to tires. Mandy is more deliberate in her riding than I am, she picks lines and sticks to them, where I tend to have a severe case of Trail ADD. The faster I go, the more likely I am to change my line at any given time. Sometimes it works to my advantage, other times I get into trouble. The only things that can make or break my poor riding choices are my tires. What works for Mandy doesn't always work for me, and vice-a-versa. I like the Nevegal, she does not. She likes the IRD Fire XC Pro, I do not, etc etc.

Well, I think we may have found a tire we both like. I have had the Ardent on my RIP9 since the beginning of July, and have had the pleasure of learning this tire's traits in less than stellar riding conditions. And because Mandy instantly liked this tire, I felt compelled to find something wrong with it. I have a hard time with trusting new tires, especially ones that roll fast. The Ardent is an incredibly fast rolling tire. It has decent volume, and weighs in the low 700g range. It also has good cornering knobs, which I have learned to trust a little more each time I ride.

That spectre of doubt hung on for dear life though. I kept threatening to switch my tires back to the trusty Nevegal, but never did. And finally, last night, we had a great ride on the lower Perry Hill trails that permanently changed my opinion of these tires.

First of all, there is no tire out there that is good on mud, wet rocks and roots. They all slide, some more than others. The Ardent is a tire that slides very little on off camber rooty climbs, even it those roots are wet. On descents they are fast, and provide enough cornering grip to install superhero like confidence in high speed turns.

Maybe part of it is that I finally accepted the awful trail conditions. I like to think that the tires have proven themselves. And for a tire to do well in these conditions, they must be alright.
They get to stay on my bike.

RIP9, The Next Generation

2008-07-23T21:39:00.003-04:00

Or more accurately, the second generation.
I couldn't keep going on without a RIP9 in my stable, it is that good of a bike. Blue had to move on, so I looked at this as an opportunity to see if I could still have a bike that exuded the same sort of confidence, without the weight.

I'm now riding an 07 RIP, the frame with the seat gusset. I pulled most of the components off of Kermit, mango Royale wheels with Stan's Arch rims. The Joplin post came with me from the old RIP, providing just enough "what the hell have I done" to make me not like the new bike right away. The fork is the new 120mm Fox F-29, and the stoppers are the same Juicy Ultimates that hauled my big ass down to speed on the VT50.

My very first ride on the bike was not that good. I had spent two hours prior finishing the build, and my first ride was plagued with a nasty bunch of gremlins. These gremlins messed up my suspension settings, stretched my cables, and worst of all, unseated my new Maxxis Ardent front tire. After installing a tube up front, and fiddling with the barrel adjusters, I finished my hurkey-jerky first ride.
I would almost equate this new bike to a newborn foal. It felt awfully spindly and unsure compared to 'Ole Blue.

As I ride the bike more though, that tentativeness dissolves.
My last few rides have been a lot of fun. The new bike weighs 29.49lbs with pedals, dirt and my signature carbon bottle cage. I know that this bike is capable of the same sort of malarkey that Blue was, except that it is a different kind of horsie. Blue was a bruiser, this new silver stallion requires a bit more finesse. This new lighter weight RIP is quicker, climbs faster, and only beats me up half as much. Provided I'm paying attention. You could get away with just about anything on Blue, but with this bike, you really have to commit.

Unfortunately, we seem to be experiencing some sort of a monsoon. This last week has been terribly rainy, and all of our local trails are closed.
I hope to be able to get out in the woods again soon, but it has rained non stop all day, and shows no sign of stopping for the next few days.

Festival Round Up

2008-07-15T20:50:00.002-04:00

So many things happened this weekend, that it is tough to do any of it justice.
Needless to say, we feel the Festival was a success. We had about 100 registered attendees, and maybe another 50 or so that came and went throughout the day.

Friday afternoon, DeJay and Fuzzy from Niner arrived with their rolling home and demo bikes, and we went out for a quick ride after I closed the shop. It was great, in a humbling sort of way. Those two didn't even bat an eye at the climb up to Jose, and they were both riding single speeds!
We finished the night at the Alchemist, where they had tapped their special Festival brew, a delicious smokey porter type of beer, that went down way too easily.

Saturday morning, we got up super early and went to the festival site where I set up our tent and repair stand. The weather was beautiful, blue sky and no clouds. Our Oakley rep set his tent up, and was loaning out cool new shades to experience on trail. Anyone who hasn't had an opportunity to check out the new Radar glasses really should try some on, they are sweet.
I had to open the shop at 10, so off I went. Coincidentally, the State of Vermont had a tax holiday this past weekend. I will say that while the numbers for Saturday weren't too shabby, I expected that there would be more folks buying. I guess folks were using this weekend as an opportunity to clear Best Buy out of big screen TVs. Oh well. I did sell 3 RIP 9s though.
DeJay and Fuzzy were getting lots of folks stoked on the big wheels. I was really glad they came, they brought the festival element with them (or maybe it was the several cases of New Belgium beer).

Saturday night was the big party at Waterbury Wings, my neighbors. The place was packed. We had a raffle and giveaways.

Sunday was another early one, and it unfortunately started to rain. The Stowe ride was cancelled, but the Waterbury folks persevered. It wasn't raining that hard and the canopy provided adequate shelter. We had a couple of group rides in the morning and afternoon. The Waitsfield ride went off on time, but I had offered to let Mandy ride as she pretty much organized the whole event. I felt I should do at least something, and opted to help with tear down and clean up.
We had just begun to unload all the small bits and pieces out of the cars when the sky really let loose. We scurried as fast as we could to get it all indoors, and then went and hid in the Alchemist for some late lunch/early dinner. I was pooped!

DeJay and Fuzzy hung out for two nights, their next stop is Mount Snow for next weekend's NORBA races. They left this morning, hopefully well rested and caught up on laundry.

Everyone I spoke with had nothing but positive things to say about the event. Obviously, there are some things that could have been done differently, but hey, this is the first time we've ever thrown a festival! We had some good ideas pop up over the last couple of days, which will make next year's event even better.

Maxxis Ardent 29er Tire Review

2008-07-10T14:02:00.004-04:00

(Hi All - it's Mandy guest blogging with a new tire review)

Now available for 29ers - Maxxis calls the Ardent "aggressive tread tires in high-volume casings". These tires have a low center tread with ramped knobs to minimize rolling resistance as well as blocky side knobs for traction while cornering.

I've had these tires on my Niner RIP9 for a few weeks now, experimenting with different conditions and pressures and forming my opinions. I'm comparing them mostly to the ever-popular and always reliable IRD Fire XC Pro's, which I had previously ran on the RIP, and the fast and light Schwalbe Racing Ralph's that I have on my Lynskey Pro29.

The Ardent's are actually a nice mid-point between these two tires. They're fast. They're consistent. They're just like the Racing Ralph's, but with a little less 'race'. Generally I run my tires with fairly high pressure, but like this other reviewer, I found that taking the pressure down a bit made them more responsive on the trail.

I've been working hard on this weekend's Vermont Mountain Bike Festival - and was stoked to steal some time on the trail on Tuesday night to work on reviewing these tires. The light was perfect and I wanted to share a rarely seen peek at Calamity Ridge* on Perry Hill. No one ever takes photos of this section of smooth sweeping singletrack and it's a shame. Perfect terrain for these Ardents.

My verdict? These tires are fast and fun. If you're looking for an all around go-fast tire with much better traction than your everyday race tire - the Maxxis Ardent are a great choice.

*site of my posterior shoulder dislocation in 2004.

Dust in the Wind

2008-07-06T18:46:00.003-04:00

At the risk of seeming sentimental, I am going to give give a huge shout out to my recently "ex-bike".

This bike has been the most fantastic pony in my stable, always ready, always eager to please. Sure, it started out as a svelte 27lb bike, but it packed on the pounds over the years. Did that make a difference?

You bet it did.

In an age where everything needs to be light, strength and durability is often sacrificed. Not so with this bike. It was always a completely different game for this Niner RIP9. Uncompromising traction, travel, power were the keywords at play here. I could count on this bike in any situation. I knew its few limitations, and relied on its many capabilities. I always got off the bike with a big grin. At 32lbs, with monster brakes, big tires and a great big fork, this bike had become something beyond what I'd though possible on a 29er. Sure, it climbed a little slower than the rest, but point it down and LOOK OUT! The latest addition of the Joplin seatpost was the icing on the cake.

Blue, is after all, just a bike. It can be replaced. Or can it?

All of the experiences I've had on this bike, both good and bad, have made this bike what it is, not just to me, but to many other riders out there. My experience on the RIP has certainly painted a picture of the capabilities of this frame. Not only did I learn the limitations of certain components, I sometimes also learned my own. Having the bike remain a constant when testing new products was such an amazing gift.

Blue was a first generation RIP9, new to me the day I got back from Interbike in '06. This bike stood proud against nagging production issues, was always ridden hard, crashed harder, and above all else loved more than it's stablemates by it's first pilot, me.

Blue has gone on to make another owner happy. And it always will.

You're my boy, Blue... I miss you.

Vermont Mountain Bike Festival

2008-07-01T09:59:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of what will be a busy month for us.

Preparations for the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival are going well. We have had a lot of support from the local community, their generosity has ensured that the weekend will be one to talk about for years to come.

DJ and Fuzzy from Niner Bikes will be there with the demo fleet.
There will be lots of rides. We'll be organizing rides at trails in Stowe, Hinesburg, Waitsfield and Underhill. Sugarbush will also be a destination for folks that want to try the gravity scene.

The Alchemist will be brewing a special beer that will be tapped on Friday night, Waterbury Wings will be throwing a party on Saturday with great food, live music and prizes.

To ensure the quality of the event, it is only open to registered attendees, so if you are interested in coming, you will need to sign up.

The weather trend is improving, and the trails are drying out nicely.
Hope to see you there!

Whoops

2008-06-30T23:12:00.003-04:00

Can anyone see what is wrong with this picture?

Seems I forgot to tighten a couple of bolts.

Needless to say, I was very rattled from this experience, I had just completed a pretty high speed descent on part of the Perry Hill Trail System, and was on my way out, when my handlebars slipped in the stem.

I was riding a section we call "ZZ", a section of switchbacks that trail through a pine forest . The name of the game is momentum. I always play the "no pedal, no dab" game on this section. If you are unfamiliar with the trail, you will most likely dab once, or crank 1/4 of a pedal stroke to keep you going. It is a very BMX'y trail that requires a lot of body english to keep you rolling. I found that my handlebars were loose during a high speed manual through a dip, and lost control of the bike. In the picture, the bike points left, but the trail goes right...

After that, I was completely unable to get back up to speed.

I had lofty goals of getting the rest of the data for the Jet vs. Spider shootout, but today, I just had to get out of the woods safely.
With only my pride bashed up, I will regroup and try again in the morning.

Upgrades - Cake and Eating It

2008-06-26T21:50:00.006-04:00

I didn't think it was actually possible, but I managed to find another upgrade to my RIP9.
I have been ecstatic with every change I have made to the bike, which I like to think is a good thing. I recognize it as progression.

It began with the fork upgrades, I went from the ubiquitous Reba, had a brief stint with a Maverick, then settled on the Fluid 135 from White Brothers. Not only did the fork feel great, it virtually eliminated a whole range of nitpicks I had with the bike.

Then, about a year ago, I took off the Juicy Carbon brakes and replaced them with the Avid Code brake. This was another good move, I could brake later into turns, and count on them grabbing hard when needed. For those that do not know, the Juicy is a 2 piston brake, perfectly adequate for all around riding, the Code is a 4 piston DH brake, which incidentally, are only about 42g more per side (non-rotational weight folks, totally acceptable) than the Juicy Carbon. Big kids take note - this is an upgrade worth considering. I'm still running the 180/165mm, front/rear rotor combo. Plenty of power.

With the new fork, I was beginning to really push the limits on my RIP. With the new brakes I was able to get away with a lot more.

Then I got a pair of the Ergon Enduro grips. Weird as they look, they make a huge difference to my paws, which would often get sore and beat up on rough downhills.

And now, just when I thought I had the bike all figured out, one of these found it's way on the bike.

For a long time I have poo-pooed the adjustable seatpost thing. 'Set and forget' and 'Run what ya brung' had always been my mottos, until about 4 hours ago.

This is the Crank Brothers Joplin post, a design licenced from the Maverick group. I can't see myself without this gadget on my RIP now. I was able to ride sections of trail so much faster, just because "the boys" were not in any danger. I have the Remote version of the post. The total travel range is about 3", which you can change at will with a weird, but cool and well thought out lever. You can literally adjust your saddle height within a few mm if you are talented enough.

But just imagine, if you could drop your saddle height 3" for just a few seconds on a trail, and then have it right back up for when you need to climb....

Oh yeah.

An unfortunate side effect for me, has been the amount of time I am no longer "on" the trail. With the family jewels safe, I can loft the bike higher up in the air without fear of retribution from the saddle. For the longest time, saddle height has kept my speed in check, but now, I'm beginning to find the limitations of the brakes....
...maybe time to get bigger rotors...

Why would you buy this post? If you are like me, you aren't getting any younger. My knees hurt from years of "splitting the difference". Our trails are technical, and have intermittent and sometimes long and technical climbs. I and others like me have set their saddle height in a spot where strong seated climbing is still possible, and out of the saddle BMX style flow through the flats and downhills can still be achieved.

Now, I can have the correct saddle height for climbing, and the right saddle height for wailing the crap out of my bike on the downhills! Woo Hoo!!!!!

What a Weekend - Part Deux!

2008-06-23T20:36:00.005-04:00

Let's go back to Friday shall we?

Keller "Hey, I think I can get Maiden tickets for tomorrow night, do you wanna go?"
Me "ummmm, YES!"

Saturday marked Catamount's 30th anniversary. Nat and I showed up with his truck full of 11 of our demo bikes. We were able to get some new folks a taste of what the big wheels are all about. The weather was beautiful, trails were fun, and turn out was great. After packing up, I had time to head home and get ready for Maiden.

We were able to go to the show in REAL style.
Just recently you see, Keller bought an 81 Z-28 Camaro. Beasts like this were the most coveted things for males our age back in the day (high school). I mean, who gets to drive to another country to see Iron Maiden in a Camero? With T-tops?

We do.

So we left on Saturday evening for Montreal.
Awesome!

Thank goodness for the internet, as we found a place to park right outside of the venue, just one stop away on the Metro. We rolled right up to the ticket booth and got our passes. We were at the headlining act of an all day metal-fest in Montreal, a beer in each fist, enjoying our favorite band, after spending 3 hours in some of Detroit's finest steel getting there, just in time for the band to go on.

The set list was the same as the last show, which was EVERY song that you need to see live. This time, instead of the second row, we were at the back end of 60,000 screaming Maiden fans, and I'll have to say that I really enjoyed the show. For one, I was not being crushed into the first row, and I could see the whole stage. They put on a very good show, lights, fireworks, explosions, and a giant Eddy.

To us, it was well worth the trip.

Sunday was spent lugging huge rocks around the forest in the rain, as we still have a lot of work to do on the new re-route. The trail is taking shape, and we got a lot done on some of the more difficult sections.

I need a week off to recover from the weekend!

The Spider - Some Thoughts

2008-06-19T21:06:00.006-04:00

It's been my goal to make a solid effort to get the Intense Spider on all of our local trails when weather and time permit. While conditions are less than perfect, the window for riding has been open. I'm having a ton of fun on this bike, but now that the newness of it has passed, I'm beginning to experience some of the bike's capriciousness.

I've spent a fair amount of time fiddling with the rear shock, trying to get the pressure /sag just right. I eventually wound up with 200psi, with the ProPedal set on 2, and leaving it on. This seems to do the rear end of this creature a lot of justice, especially since that once it's set, no more fiddling (yay!). It climbs amazingly well, and has a springy snappy ride. To me, this is the perfect setting. Funnily enough, a customer from out of state came in with a Spider he had bought elswhere, and I set it up for him. Just one ride later, he also agreed this was the best setting.

Me, 230lbs, sag at roughly 2o%, which is Intense's recommended setting. I found that the sagged angles of the bike feels far more relaxed than you would imagine, as steep as it's static angles are. The bike will still steer through just about anything at any speed. This can also somewhat of a drag, as the BB drops as the suspension sags. On my very first ride, the first thing I noticed was sporadic pedal strike. Now that I have it set up in "the zone", it is far less pronounced, but my feet still tag the ground from time to time.

It's on sustained high speed rutted downhills however, the bike seems to lack progression in the rear shock. The rear shock has a very short stroke for the amount of travel it has, which leads me to the first thing I would change about the bike (if I were to a> have that power, and b> have only one bike).

I'd do whatever it took to get the shock travel ratio to 2:1. The rear shock seems over worked on big hits, and I have now noticed that the back end seems to wind up on any of our regular local Waterbury rides. Seems to me that a longer stroke shock could handle different types of bumps at varying speeds, which leads me in to the second thing I would change...

...which would be to update the design with the new fancy 15mm axle pivots of VPP2, as seen on new Santa Cruz Blur LT bikes. It would be a welcome addition to the construction of this bike. Our local stuff is quite ledgy, and there were a few times that the rear of the bike felt like it was going a different way than the front.

Despite these gripes, I have no doubt in my mind though, that Intense achieved what they set out to do, which was to create a lightweight race bike, that is dependable enough to get the job done. While this bike is slightly less adequate for our local trails, it shines on others. I'll be riding it this Saturday on our local race loops, and will hopefully be comparing it to a couple of other bikes.

BTW, I'm totally going to race this bike on Wednesday at Catamount, which will be the first time I get to do so this year. Nat has gotten fast (and cocky!), and needs to be put in his place!

Post Father's Day Ride Syndrome

2008-06-17T08:04:00.004-04:00

A group of us dads headed out for a ride on Sunday morning. It was beautiful and sunny. It had rained all night. Needless to say, riding was very interesting indeed. Our normally technical trails took on a new note of difficulty. While the mud made things interesting in the turns, it was the slick wet rocks that were the real problem.

We have a lot of exposed rock in Waterbury. We chose to ride 6 Flags and Joes, and there were several visits to the ground among our group. I took 2 rather spectacular tumbles on Joes. I chose to ride a couple of rocks that I should have taken the alternate route (around) on, and paid. I really should have known better.

I will say that I'm impressed with the paint on my RIP9. I dragged the non drive side about 10 feet down a steep rock, leaving marks in the rock, but found no damage to the paint. It's been a while since my last visit to the ground, and I hope to not go back any time soon.

I'm pretty banged up, but the ride was totally worth it.

Intense Spider - First Ride

2008-06-11T09:09:00.003-04:00

While the rocker issue on the Jet 9 is truly frustrating, I've decided to take the opportunity to get to know one of the other bikes we sell, the Intense Spider. These bikes are similar in that they are both geared towards XC riding and racing, so the comparison should provide some interesting results.

This bike is one of our demo bikes. It is a large frame, with a Fox RP23 rear shock and F29 100mm fork, SRAM X9 shifters and derailleur, an old but perfectly good set of XTR M960 cranks, a sweet looking set of Bike 29 Royale wheels (pewter hubs, black spokes, red nips on Arch rims), Easton EA 70 stem, Monkey Lite carbon bars and EC90 seatpost, and a white WTB Deva saddle. I originally had the white Juicy Ultimates on the Jet, but since it is grounded, I pulled them off to replace the Juicy 7s I had on the Spider. The bike has a lot of white on it, which I hear is the new black, so I have decided to name it "The White Shadow".

This weekend's weather was perfect for staying indoors next to an air conditioner, high 80s, and the air so thick you could eat it with a spoon. I'd been as sick as I've been in a long time all week, and I was certainly not in the mood to push it. It seemed as the most logical choice would be to head to Stowe Town Loops, which is ironic, as this is typically my new bike proving ground.

So how does it ride?
I will preface this by saying I am not really in any condition to "push" a bike to it's limits, but I was able to get a good measure of the bike's qualities, based on my familiarity with the terrain.
The ride starts with a gradual climb that will make you suck wind if you are out of shape, so I spun up in an easy gear. The hot muggy air didn't help either. I did all of the sustained climbing with the ProPedal on, and was rewarded with a firm ride that moved on only the biggest obstacles. I rode a the medium Spider way back in 06, which was definitely too small for me, but I was impressed back then at the climbing prowess of this bike. Perhaps there is something in the name...?

Once the hill crests, the trail rolls down some rocky double track, before turning into rooty rocky single track through a pine stand. This is where it gets fun. It's relatively flat, but still rolly, you can really milk your momentum. There are some large decomposing shale outcroppings to negotiate your way up, which can end up in disaster it you fall the wrong way.
Ont the right, there are hard rocks and tree roots, on the left, about a 70 tumble down a steep ravine into the Little River. Well, I did not make the first big outcropping. I had to put a foot down about halfway up. I attributed this to the back end being too firm.m I used this opportunity to turn the ProPedal off, and ran the shock wide open for the rest of the ride (with the exception of the last climb out).

That was much better. The biggest thing I noticed, is the the bike took on a slightly different personality. With the ProPedal off, the bike sank a little deeper into it's travel. It pedalled very well in the rough stuff, bumps large and small disappeared and the bike seemed to levitate over the trail. I was expecting a fair amount of feedback from the ground, but was pleasantly surprised to find it was minimal. The VPP suspension design does a very good job of soaking it all up, and the F29 was dialed in. Not once did I feel a hard bottom out, despite how deep into the travel I was sitting.

Climbing with the ProPedal off was no problem, the back wheel stayed on the ground for the short techy climbs that are sprinkled throughout the ride. This was a relief, as I seldom have the presence of mind to flip the switch when I need to. As we climb up to the "upper" Town Loop, there are a series of bridges that take you over some very mucky ground, and the terrain becomes a little more difficult as the root and rock population increases.

It was here that I found the single thing that I found to be a negative on the bike. Pedal strike. While not a persistent problem, it is enough to get your attention, and on one instance I came right out of my right pedal at a time that was less than convenient. As I spend more time on the bike, I will likely adjust my riding style by timing my pedal strokes a little better. Like I said before, I was definitely not on my game, so some of it could have been attributed to that.
With my one gripe out of the way, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

The suspension is very plush, and handling is very predictable. It almost has a playful feel to it. While last minute course corrections are a snap, it isn't quite as fractious as the Jet. This was appreciated, as I was on the edge of control on the fast single track descents.

The crucial piece of hardware I attribute the playful handling to, is the Chris King Tall Baseplate. It adds 5mm to the axle to crown height, thus slackening the head angle by about a degree. The Spider is renowned for it's aggressive 74° head angle, which some find too twitchy. This baseplate and correct sag on the rear shock makes the bike very manageable.

All in all, I'd say that if you were in the market for an XC bike you can race or ride all day, this bike would certainly get the job done, and is well worth a good look.

Updates

2008-06-07T15:20:00.003-04:00

The most important thing to report on, is that Niner has requested all dealers to halt all sales of the Jet 9, due to an issue with the upper rocker links. In some instances there have been failures, IE breakage of these links. They are quickly determining a solution to this problem, but in the meantime, for liabilities sake, they have asked that Jet owners keep their bikes grounded for the time being. Not one of the breakages have occurred from a bike sold from Bike 29.

Anyone that would like to know more specific details about the Jet 9, should contact me directly.

I haven't been able to ride my Jet in a while anyway, my work schedule and the rainy weather has kept me off the bike, up until early this week, when it was being horrendously sick that kept me on the sidelines. I don't often get sick, but when I do, I come down hard. I'm still trying to peer though the fog as I write this.

And on a positive note, the shop got it's new sign. It is absolutely killer. More details about the install can be found on the Five Hills Bikes webpage. It's water jet cut aluminum over a painted plywood background. The light is from an LED rope light that is mounted to the back of the aluminum. It looks awesome. A big thank you goes to Dr. Jones is on order for making the sign everything it is.

I hope to get out on the bike soon, I'm starting to get stir crazy!

My first Ti or the Lynskey Review

2008-05-29T11:08:00.004-04:00

I'm not afraid to admit, I've never ridden a titanium bike before.
I've always wanted to give it a try though so I was very stoked when George said that we'd be building up the small Lynskey Pro29 in my size. And if it wasn't enough that I'd get to test out this cool new bike, George also got it into his head that this would be a Ridiculight build. What started as a straight part swap from my Niner EMD to the Pro29 - became an exercise in shaving grams.

He weighed every Schwalbe Racing Ralph in stock to find the lightest pair in stock. The front was a not very heavy 551g, the rear 547g. All in the pursuit of Ridiculight.

The Mother's Day Royale wheels were deconstructed and rebuilt to go tubeless using the 355 rim.

Every part was carefully considered for it's weight contribution. Of course, in order to have it ready to roll up at the Kingdom Trails over the weekend, we had to make a concession or two. For example, the new Easton bars and stem didn't arrive in time to make the initial build.

Completely built, with Speedplay Frogs but without a water bottle cage, the bike weighs a respectable 22.6 pounds.

But how does it ride?

Fantastic.

It's light and zippy. Very responsive - but not twitchy in any way. It handles like a dream on singletrack. I was very pleased with it's ability to scale technical steep sections, and since it hardly weighs anything, you feel like you're just flying up the hill.

The curved top tube offers a lot of standover - I've said it before, although 5'6" isn't that short, I have short legs. This frame has plenty of standover and could definitely accommodate a much shorter rider than myself.

The Ti frame is stiff, but soaks up a lot of the trail chatter, making this bike inherently more smooth and pleasant than aluminum hardtails that I've ridden recently.

The only negative for me is occasional toe overlap with the front wheel. This is probably peculiar to the small frame, and happened only randomly on tight switchbacks, but nonetheless it was a little disappointing for a fame of this calibre.

Other than that, this bike is fast and solid. It would be a fantastic choice for racing and I hope to be able to test it out at some off-road tris, one of these days.

Jet 9, Long Term Update

2008-05-27T22:51:00.003-04:00

I've spent the last couple of weeks really getting to know the Jet on my local trails. It is by far one of the most "flickable" bikes out there, but it can come at the expense of mental comfort. By flickable, I mean it has the ability to go wherever you point it at a moment's notice, whether you are ready for it or not. It can be challenging at times, especially when you are feeling rusty. It has been my primary ride, although I do change it up for the RIP from time to time. That comparison is forthcoming...

There is no better way to describe it, the Jet is an animal. Definitely a race bike.

I have mine set up with a 100mm Fox, and it is still a very quick handling bike. It shines in the really tight stuff if you are on your game. If you are slightly off your game though, it will quickly wake you up.

It is very capable. It is very fast. Stand up on the pedals and it goes. I have not found even the most minuscule amount of flex in the rear end. Power up and you go. Mid turn course correction at any speed is not a problem.

It is most certainly a Jet, the sort that should have controls and devices that "dumb it down" for us mortals, similar to the way an F-16 has to be reigned in so the pilot doesn't die for blinking. I spent the weekend up in East Burke VT riding the Jet and a few other bikes, and, much like an F-16, I'm convinced that you should not be hungover while riding it.

While it is a demanding ride, you will be rewarded with speed, agility and quickness you've never thought possible.

I'm working on the grace part.
I would imagine, that if I was in the sort of shape to put this bike to real use, I'd be winning a couple of races...

Lynskey Pro 29er

2008-05-24T14:01:00.003-04:00

(Mandy, guest blogging for George who is really doing his best to take the whole weekend off of work)

So, the size small Lynskey Pro29 is built and ready for it's first ride this weekend. Royale tubless wheelset. XTR cranks and front derailleur. x-0 rear. Magura Marta SL brakes.

22.4 lbs with pedals.

There aren't many days off when you're a small shop, especially when you add in the internet business. But finally, after a crazy two months of opening up the new location and getting everyone's bikes set for the season we have a couple days off for the holiday. We're headed up to the Kingdom Trails in East Burke for a weekend of riding and camping. Hope to see a lot of folks we know and meet some new folks as well. Lynskey ride report to follow when we return.

Wow, more than a week now...

2008-05-22T21:27:00.005-04:00

It isn't that things aren't happening, I assure you.
Many great things are currently in transition. New 09 Fox Forks are coming, Jet 9s, I9s, the Lynskey factor, it's a lot to keep in check.
I have a very sweet Lynskey build on deck that will make your mouth water. I wish I could ride something like it.

I am taking a DAY OFF!

I am taking the whole Memorial Day weekend off as a matter of fact, but I will be up in East Burke riding bikes. Wanna come? Look for the B29 banners at the Burke Mtn campground. My plan is Sunday and Monday rides, punctuated with meals laden with bacon, cheese and beer. If you show up Saturday night, I may even make you a pre-ride breakfast on Sunday...

Titani-yummm!

2008-05-13T19:43:00.003-04:00

This just in...
I received our first batch of Lynskey Pro 29 frames today. All productivity in the shop ground to a halt the moment I opened the box, and we all held out breaths as the first frame was carefully removed from it's packaging.

oooooohhhh!

Amazingly beautiful.
The first one I grabbed was a small, satin finished frame, weighing in at 3.39lbs, with the Paragon style dropouts (both drive side types are included). The second was a beautiful brushed finish, size large, that came in at 3.59. I imagine that the medium will arrive at 3.49. Very respectable indeed.

The brushed finish does come at an upcharage though, but in my book is worth it. I'm a shop monkey at heart, and I got the satin finish printed up in no time at all. The brushed finish seems to resist grubby hand prints, and has some sort of a machine like hue to it.

Both finishes come with die cut decals, which are available in a variety of colors to match any build. If you want to go all the way, you can have your graphics laser etched. If you are a techno dork like I am, this is worth the extra coin. I had one of these in the shop last week that was finished in this way, and I was immediately smitten.

matte finish behind the brushed

run it a single speed

or geared!

This is no doubt a very versatile frame.

Rolling with the Squadron

2008-05-11T20:39:00.007-04:00

Mother's Day.
Three guys, out in the woods. The spouses had first dibs on the singletrack for the day, and fortunately, they were kind enough to leave some scraps for us.
Trail conditions were awesome. Dry as dry can be.

Nat, JayPro and myself headed up Perry Hill for some great riding today. Nat logged some flight time on my RIP, while Jay and I spent some time fine tuning our Jet 9s.

While the shop continues to be very busy, I did manage to get out for a ride last week, and I actually rode my RIP. I had a great time riding it. With any luck, I'll be able to spend a bit more time on trail, and now that both bikes are set up just the way I like them, I ought to be able to get a good comparison between the two. They are very different bikes.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Jet today. However, I took some time pre-ride, and swapped the Conti Mountain King tires for the Schwalbe Racing Ralph (2.4s). I think that I will go back to the Contis when it is a little colder and wetter, but for now, I am enjoying the high volume and very round profile of the Schwalbe much more. The tire swap was a good move. Cornering is very predictable, rolling resistance is lower, and I dropped .5 lbs in overall weight.

It was nice to let the Jet loose on some familiar, yet rugged terrain. I maintain that it is a quicker bike than the RIP. While not as sure footed at times in certain scenarios, it more than makes up for in maneuverability. You can change your mind at any point and switch lines at will. It outclasses the RIP in it's ability to climb technical sections with ease. We made the climb to the top of Joe's in no time at all.

I remain steadfast in my thinking that the Jet is a race bike. There have been some folks out there on the interweb that have complained about the weight of this frame, but I built Jay's bike at a respectably raceable 24.6lb (with pedals and bottle cage folks - real weights here). Take weight out of the equation, and what you have is a bike that can outclimb, out corner and straight up out perform the competition. The rest is up to the rider...

Lack of Posting = Too Much Work!

2008-05-06T07:24:00.004-04:00

As some of you may have noticed, it's been a while since I posted. Over a week!

The shop has hit ludicrous speed. Repairs and sales are way up, and I mean WAY up. The new location has already proven itself as a good move, and continues to perform in a way I couldn't have imagined.
In addition to our screaming retail business, Bike 29 continues to gain momentum. Last week I filled our Outback wagon with packages just to go to the post office. That's a lot of boxes.
The weather has not been the best for riding, so we've been keeping our head down and grinding on.

Here are some important updates.

Schwalbe Racing Ralphs are in stock in both sizes.
Niner Jet 9s continue to arrive, but I am almost sold out of my entire order, not just the ones I brought in early.
09 Fox F29s are here, update soon.
Several sets of I9 wheels have arrived, with more on the way. Call for details.

Bike 29 is proud to announce the addition of Lynskey to our catalog. The Lynskeys are the family that originally brought you beautiful titanium frames under the name of Litespeed. While what happened to Litespeed was truly tragic, and out of the Lynskey family's hands, they pulled themselves up by their boot straps and rose from the ashes under the Lynskey Performance Designs name.

And guess what?
They have a 29er that will blow your socks off.
Look for more on that very soon.

Product Review - Twin 6 Messenger Bag

2008-04-27T08:46:00.005-04:00

I have a lot of messenger bars. I seem to attract them the way that light attracts moths.
I have several examples of Timbuktu, Patagonia, Crumpler and more, and most of them do get used fairly regularly. In current use, is my T6 Sack, which is a large basic Crumpler back with some very cool graphics. I scored this pack from my friends at Twin Six when I was out in Minneapolis for QBP's Frost Bike.

It is a no frills pack, it has one large main compartment with 3 pockets, a flat zippered front compartment. There are pockets on both sides that easily fit water bottles. Anyone who has seen a Crumpler Bag knows how well they are built.

I've been using this bag for hauling my laptop, a change of clothes and some shoes back and forth to the shop whenever possible. The rising cost of gas sucks, and frankly, I'd much rather spend my money on something more fun. I've not had to fill my car up in over 2 weeks.
Riding a bike is far much more enjoyable too. I've been towing the boy to daycare in his trailer, so I'm using it as an opportunity to spend some time outside with the kiddo, and get a bike ride in too.

It was yesterday though, when the bag really proved it's worth. I was charged with picking up dinner. I didn't have the car, so I grabbed my biggest bag, the T6 Sack. Well. We had some of the ingredients at home, but still needed a few things. We were going to have burritos.
I was able to fit 4 limes, an orange, a lemon, a loaf of bread, a big flat of chicken, a bag of rice and a 12 pack of beer. Not bad eh?

The loaded pack was heavy, but fit snugly to my back with the help of the stabilizer strap. It was also pretty comfy too, despite having huge box of beer in it. I managed to get it all back to the shop safely, without crushing the bread even.

I'm not sure, but I think that if pushed, I might even be able to get 2 12 packs in there!
I give this bag 3 thumbs up (if I had 3). One for top notch construction, one for the excellent graphics, and one for being able to haul the beer home.
Cheers!

JET 9, First Flight

2008-04-24T20:50:00.003-04:00

Thanks to planetary alignment, good planning or just plain dumb luck, I was able to take flight on my Jet 9 tonight. My regular test loop is dry and riding very well right now. I ride every single one of my bikes on this loop, and I know it like the back of my hand. This is what makes it the best proving ground.

The Jet, well, this is some sort of awesome.

My initial impressions are that this bike delivers. It is quick!

I put a lot of new components on this bike. The brand new brakes aren't yet up to the task of slowing my 230lb carcass down fresh from the box, which made for some exciting cornering. Nonetheless, the bike was able to go where pointed despite my subconscious efforts to attempt low earth orbit.

I forgot about "taking it easy" many times, and often pushed it way over the line. When you are having fun, you just have to run with it. I made some tricky sections my first attempt tonight that often take me weeks to work up the gumption to even try.

This is the first bike I've built in a long time where the bars have been lower than the seat. It threw me at first, but this bike was originally marketed to be a "race" bike. I sort of have it built up as one, with the exception of the wheels. I built identical wheels to my RIP, knowing that I was going to wail the crap out of this bike right out of the gate.

My Fox fork was riding extremely saggy tonight, but that was entirely my fault. Over the winter I had the fork Push'd, totally re-valved and dialed in just for me and my ham fisted riding style. Tonight I felt the need to let some air out of it Fortunately, I remember it's Push'd settings, so I'll be fixing that IMMEDIATELY.

There are a lot of NEW (for me) parts on the bike; Ergon grips, narrow EC90 SL bars, and the rubber, Continental's Mountain King 2.4. What a weird tire! More on this in an upcoming post. I really like this tire, but not in a way that I can easily talk about at the moment.

It's very hard for me to be precise about my initial thoughts on this bike. It's not often that I am stymied when trying to find fault in something. Sure there are things that I wish may have been different with this bike, but wow, it I like it! It's impressive to be able to throw down on a brand new bike, the same way one might on a bike they may have had for years.

bling!

Internet Free Zone

2008-04-22T17:42:00.003-04:00

Not by choice either.
So much of the work I do goes on after store hours, and since the internet has decided not to work at my home, I'm forced to reduce my work load slightly. Apparently, I'll be waiting until they can get a technician over to sort it out. What is even more annoying, is that my Crackberry has also decided to stop receiving emails, so I am in true radio silence.
Stupid technology...

So the Gravel Grinder was a huge success, we have a great post on the Five Hills Bikes blog with pictures, and a video of the descent down Loomis Hill that someone was brave enough to film one handed. Next year, we'll have more room. We had to turn away a bunch of folks, which was a huge shame, but we had planned for a certain number. A huge thanks goes out to all of our sponsors.

I've been building Jets and shipping them out furiously. What an amesome bike. I should be able to get mine dirty this weekend, if I can ever get caught up in here!

The Plane has Landed

2008-04-17T23:34:00.002-04:00

After what seems like FOREVER, I finally have my Jet 9.

I'm not even going to talk about what it took to get these 10 frames here, but rest assured, they are here. Everyone that pre-ordered the Jet before 1.31.08, will get their frame before the rest of America. I just need a chance to do final QC before getting them packed up and on their way again. They will leave on Monday.

All I have to say is WOW!

What a beautiful machine. Everything is well thought out and executed to perfection. Typical of Niner. I had a really hard time deciding between the Kermit frame and the ano black, but I eventually chose black. I already have a Kermit, and he has been very good to me. I plan on holding on to my original Kermit for a long time, so it's best not to piss him off. In fact, Kermit gets the nod for the big ride this Sunday.

The Jet is a different beast. For my personal ride, I chose to bling out on the lightweight components, yet go with a beefier wheelset. I'm a trail rat, not a racer, but I wanted something I could duel with at Catamount if I needed to. With my "stock" set up, the bike rolls at 27.6lbs (with pedals and bottle cage). A full 2 pounds less than my RIP. It's set up with a "PUSHed" Fox fork, and an all mountain double (on a sweet set of cranks arms too!). I have a feeling that there are a great many things to be learned about this Jet...

An absolutely gorgeous beast this is.
I have a handful of medium and large frames that don't have homes on this run, but I have another 10 coming. I have a small amount of small and XL frames unspoken for.

Want one?

Call!!

1 Week to Go

2008-04-13T18:16:00.010-04:00

This was the scene today.

Sideways snow on the climb up Perry, rain on the back side, and lots of wind.
DA and I checked out the first and last climb of the big Gravel Grinder. The roads are in really good shape and the weather is supposed to be in the 60s and somewhat sunny all week. I think the ride will be really fun. The super-duper long range forecast is calling for good weather next weekend. I had fun riding in the snow today, so whatever the weather, I know I'm ready.

I'm pleased to announce that Pop Soda VT is going to be providing some of their delicious micro-brewed soda for the event. These guys are a small operation on the south end of Waterbury, and they make the best soda you will ever taste. I'm a big sucker for the lemon lavender with ginger, mmmmmm...

The start point will be in the parking lot of the Pilgrim 5 building, just behind the newly refurbished Train Station. The original start point was Rusty Parker Park, but it is going to be used for a wedding. An outdoor wedding in April? Good luck to the bride and groom.
This will not significantly change the route however, as all the aforementioned locations are within spitting distance of each other.

Important things for participants to know:
1. The big hills are all paved, and there are only a couple of spots where poor unpaved road conditions may put the big hurt on you.
2. This is not a race, it is a social event. Be supportive of your fellow rider.
3. The ride is on rural roads, expect to see cars, trucks, and possibly hostile rednecks who are mad that they can't ride their 4 wheelers or snow machines. Obey all traffic laws, and ride single file when encountering any vehicles.
4. This is not a race! TAKE YOUR TIME. Enjoy the scenery.
5. There will be a sag wagon at Hope Davey Field in Waterbury Center. There will be recovery drinks, PB&Js, and for those that can step up, maybe even a few PB&Rs. This is the halfway point. Anyone not feeling up for it has the option of peeling out, but they will need to ride back to town under their own power. It is a flat ride, so if you've bonked, you will easily be able to make it after refueling.
6. We'll have a couple of trucks patrolling the route, making sure that no one gets left along the way.
7. The last hill (Blush) will be optional to those who are not feeling it. It is a steep bugger.

There will be a pre-ride meeting at 8:45am. Participants are asked to be at the start point at 8 for registration, and the following pre-ride meeting. We'll be going over the finer points of the event, so you'll want to be there.

The Monkey Rides Again

2008-04-10T20:09:00.001-04:00

After a prolonged absence, the Monkey has been rebuilt to ride again.
It was decommissioned at the end of 06, and it hung in the shop in a place of honor. I felt bad about it's state. I mean, without this bike, I never would have discovered the joy of the big wheels. If I had never discovered 29ers, I probably wouldn't have opened the shop.
Funny how it all works out.

In the process of moving the shop, I found a whole bunch of parts in random boxes that I could use to get the Monkey rideable again. I set it up as a 1x9 with Mary bars and cable disc brakes. I'm going to use it to commute to the new shop, as well as drag the boy to daycare. It's built up with a set of Foundation wheels, shifting coming courtesy of a 10 year old SRAM 9.0SL rear derailleur mated to a new X7 shifter. Also coming out of retirement is a pair of similar vintage SRAM 9.0 brake levers, the ones with the faux carbon print on them. It's pretty cool to have this stuff out getting used again. To keep the vintage theme going, I'm using the first set of Time pedals I ever owned.

I climbed Barnes Hill on the shakedown ride. For the most part the dirt roads are doing well. They had dragged the road smooth today, so it was a little rough going. I imagine that by the time the Gravel Grinder happens, the roads will be fine. Sweet Road on the other hand, is not doing so well. I actually crashed when the front wheel washed into a deep car tire track. Once I picked myself up, I could smell a big animal. It had to be a moose, it kinda smelled like a horse, only really pungent. As I pedalled along, I noticed not one but two distinct moose tracks in the muddy road. Boy, I was getting close, the smell was getting stronger, and those tracks were very fresh.
Alas, no moose sighting for me. I didn't have my camera anyway, but I did come across a couple of people who had actually seen the two moose walking down the road. I must have just missed them. I did see 6 deer though. I also hit 44.7 mph going down Loomis Hill.
More Gravel Grinder updates tomorrow.

Gravel Grinder

2008-04-07T21:04:00.003-04:00

No, it isn't really this bad...

Red 5.1 and I took a spin out on "the course" yesterday to see how things are shaping up. Due to time constraints, I only rode hills 3 and 4 (Barnes and Gregg). I was surprised to see that there were some other tire tracks on the road, somewhat fresh too.

Hills 3 & 4 make up roughly 13 miles of the overall ride, and have 1430ft of climbing. It took me 1hr 17 minutes to do on my singlespeed. I averaged 10 mph, and my max speed was a hair under 40mph. Not bad eh? The weather was beautiful, low 50s, no wind. I'm hoping we get some of that for the main event.

I plan on getting out again to check out the conditions on hills 1 & 2 (Perry & Loomis) this week. Hill 5 (Blush) is completely paved, so we're all set there. I also want to see if I can do Perry on Red 5.1. The 35-21 gearing makes climbing certain pitches quite painful, but I've been thinking all along that I'd be riding the single speed. Most of the big climbs are paved, so just about any type of bike will be suitable. I have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of 29ers and cross bikes.

Yesterday's conditions were quite variable. It was really dry in the sunny areas, but quite treacherous in the shady hollows and cold spots. With warmer temps in the forecast over the next few days, I anticipate that the roads will be in pretty good shape by the 20th. I will admit that for the most part, I was surprised at how good the overall conditions were. The bad spots were pretty bad though. There was one nasty part while climbing Gregg Hill where I sank deep into the road and almost came to a dead stop in mid pedal stroke. Shortly thereafter, while coasting down another hill, I sank the front wheel and almost did an unintentional McTwist. Fortunately I held it together.

If you are still on the fence about joining in, just step up! It will be fun. Once again, proceeds go to benefit the Waterbury trails. If you would like to ride, but just can't make it, consider a donation. All contributions help make our trails better and safer.

Jabberwockies!

2008-04-06T09:49:00.003-04:00

The newest batch of Jabberwockies are beginning to arrive. Aside from the hot new colors, there are no major changes to this single speed specific steel hardtail. The colors are None More Black (think Spinal Tap), Snuffalupagas Orange, and Bone White.

The Jabberwocky is made from Vassago's proprietary butted 4130 tubeset. It is a comfortable ride, lightweight and completely capable of devouring any trail you point it down. Vassago's Wet Cat geometry puts you "in" the bike, lowering your center of gravity, allowing you to climb technical sections of single track the way a wet cat climbs grandma's curtains.

Vassago's price will not, however, put you in the poor house. The Jabberwocky frame is $439, add the rigid O.D.I.S. (Oh Damn It's Smooth) fork is available painted to match for just $100 more.
These beasts don't stick around long. If you were thinking of trying to snap one of these up, now is the time to pre-order. We will be shipping all of our pre-orders later this week.

In other news...
Wheelset delivery is a bit delayed due to stock at the moment. DT is out of spokes, and Stan's is out of the Arch rim, although I'm told the spokes should be arriving any day now. Arch rims are somewhere between the factory and Stan's HQ. I have plenty of rims on back order, so when they arrive the wheel building will resume it's furious pace...

Niner Jet 9s are going to be here soon! They have left the factory, and are on a boat headed for California. If you haven't already ordered one of these, you may not get one til the next production. I still have a few sizes and colors left available from my pre-order.

We are continuing to settle into our new digs. The showroom is open Monday thru Friday 9-6, and Saturday 10-4. If you are up in the area, come on by! We have lots of 29er goodness to check out, including Fisher's amazing arsenal of 29er hard tail and full suspension bikes.

Think Spring!

Regret

2008-04-01T23:15:00.003-04:00

"Daddy, what does regret mean?"

"Well son, the funny thing about regret is,
It's better to regret something you have done,
Than to regret something you haven't done."

I regret not buying more of these...

The Fisher Superfly is one of the best values out there. $3299 gets you an X0 equipped race rig with a G2 Fox F29 RLC. At 23 lbs, it's competitively spec'd and priced against just about anything out there.

These have been very hard to come by, and I imagine that having two side by side, will be a rarity this season.

"And when you see your mother this weekend,"
"Be sure to tell her...."

***lyrics by Gibby Haynes, we still love you!

Moving Right Along

2008-03-31T16:19:00.004-04:00

DA and I spent a good portion of yesterday getting all the last bits and pieces out of the old spot.
When we had finished, washed up, last minute checked and locked up, we were walking away from the end of a pretty important era. After 2 years, the shop where I started out became too small. I hope I never have to move shops again. What a pain! Stuff has a way of accumulating, especially in dark seldom used places like the back alley and the basement. Needless to say, I found all kinds of stuff I'd forgotten about over the last two years.

Oh well. That chapter is closed, and we are working on making the new spot a big success, now that we are "officially" open. We had a soft opening on Saturday, which was great. We didn't exactly break any sales records, but we did manage to let folks know we're here. The weather has yet to cooperate. Still in the 30s, and still snowing. All I can say is, I hope spring comes hard and fast. We won't need rain until August at this point....

Here are a few shots of the new place from Saturday.

There is still a fair amount of unpacking to do. I'm also expecting quite a bit of product to arrive too. Before too long, it will look like a real bike shop...
...except without the clutter!

A Heartfelt Thank You

2008-03-27T21:28:00.004-04:00

I'd like to express our gratitude for all the sympathies everyone has contributed. It really means a lot to us.

As you may imagine, it's been pretty tough to get excited about things lately. I'm starting to feel a little less bummed out, as the pain of our loss diminishes, and I remember the happier times with Dagget. He was a great dog. Well travelled, he had many friends, and enjoyed a great many activities most dogs will never get the chance to do. Only now do I realize just how sick he was, and how our schedules revolved around his failing health. There are a great many empty parts of the day now, where I would have been taking care of him. It is weird and lonely. But it was his time to pass on, and now it's time for me to let go. I choose to remember him in his prime, when he would all of a sudden, yet purposefully, do something hilariously inappropriate.

It has been very difficult at times to figure out what to do with these empty spaces. Mourning is awful. Nonetheless, we have been making progress at the new shop.

Thankfully, the day after was filled with deliveries and things to do. The slatwall arrived unannounced, and fortunately Nat happened to be hanging around to help get it off the truck. I never would have been able to do it myself without causing serious damage to myself or my surroundings. A whole pile of new bikes arrived, including Fisher Superfly's and Hi-Fi's and more, right after the slatwall.

Anyway, this second round of thanks goes out to all that have helped me out over the last few days. Once again, I could not have done it without you. Jaypro contributed most of his frontal lobe helping me stain the counters, Ponte, DA, Keller, Shaun, all helped with the schlepping and lifting of heavy things, Nat built it or screwed it to the wall straight and level, Mandy unpacked it, Dr Jones expertly applied huge vinyl window stickers letting folks know we're here while my new sign waits in the permitting process, Joe outsmarted some of the problems that were holding me back and Keiran watched Empire Strikes Back while it was all going down.

Saturday is the big day.

Dagget 1995-2008

2008-03-24T14:57:00.004-04:00

Dagget in San Marcos, CA 2000

Today we said goodbye to our dearest friend, Dagget. Born on a farm near Swanton, VT, Dagget was 1/2 purebred Golden Retriever, 1/4 Lab and 1/4 German Shepherd. My first dog, he was given to me as a well-intentioned gift when he was only 8 weeks old and named after the robot dogs of Battlestar Galactica. As of lately he had lost nearly 20 pounds and had been suffering from apparent kidney failure.

Dagget at about 10 weeks old.

Dagget and George in 1999, Oakledge Park, VT

Dagget was a consumate outdoor dog. In his younger years he always went mountain biking with us, no matter the trail or distance. As he got older and started to slow down, he stuck to trail running and hiking and jaunts to the park or the creamie stand.

Dagget at Del Mar Dog beach 2001

Dagget 2007.
We'll miss you roo-dog.

mandy, george, and keiran

Closer....

2008-03-23T19:52:00.005-04:00

I spent most of the weekend huffing fumes. Last week, Nat built me what will be my "retail counters". These are works of art, and are reminiscent of the counters I built for the old shop. The big difference, is that Nat knows what he is doing, and these are REALLY nice. I forgot my camera today, but I will get a picture of them up on the next post.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday, and a few hours today staining those cabinets to match the old ones, and man! I was on another planet for a while. Even with the windows open it was pretty overwhelming, but they sure look nice.

Also new, are the window decals provided by Great Big Signs & Graphics, expertly installed by our good friend Dr.Jones. Again, pictures will follow. The place is really coming along. Once my replacement slatwall shoes up, I should be just about ready to go.

Speaking of ready to go, the Gravel Grinder is coming soon. Some folks have asked about pre-riding the course, so here is the loop. It will be run counter clockwise from Waterbury Village.

View Larger Map

Don't forget to sign up! We will not be taking any ride day registrations!

Where did all This Stuff Come From?

2008-03-19T18:06:00.005-04:00

In know where it came from, but it's still amazing to see it all in one place. In a previous post's comment, Racin' Rick (or Negative Rick as I now call him) said it would come to this. At the moment, he is absolutely right, but this is just a temporary thing.

I brought over all the bikes with the help of Nat and his almighty Tundra. It took 2 trips. (I soooo want one!) Right now everything is stuffed into the shop while we get the retail floor (or "ska" floor, as I like to call it) up and running. It's a good thing I have 30 hooks now! The rack stayed up overnight too, so it has been adequately field tested.

The wheel building station has been getting a lot of action lately too. I 'm really glad to have it. Because it is in it's own area, it is isolated from a majority of the chaos. I'm getting 2 sets of Royales a day out the door.

My slatwall showed up on the truck yesterday completely destroyed. A quick phone call ensured that another shipment was going to be headed my way immediately, but it still screws things up. The new counters are done, we'll just need to jimmy them in to place tomorrow afternoon, and finish them. The slatwall will just have to be addressed later.

Another item showed up yesterday that many of us were waiting for. Big B's RIP9 frame. Bruno rode the crap out of his RIP9 last year. It is now getting a full overhaul. Step 1 was to strip the frame down in it's entirety, including the bearings and head badge. I sent it off to Spectrum Powder Works for some paint. The original frame was Hi Ho Silver, but the big boy's sweat was so caustic, it made the clear ano run. Maybe lay off the canolis B?

Anyway, this sort of thing is not uncommon. I play guitar, and destroy strings and bridge saddles in a similar fashion. Especially when I am rocking extra hard. B rode this thing every day from May to October, so I'd say this amount of wear and tear is pretty normal. I mean, he turned a Rampage into a semi-slick. That's some miles.

So the front and rear triangle are adorned in a beautiful pearl white powder coat. I'll document the rebuild process over the next week. I so want a pearl white Niner...

Updates

2008-03-16T18:40:00.003-04:00

We plan on having a fully armed and operational battle station within the next 2 weeks.
We are just about there right now, but it all comes down to having a few things happen. These things are rather large and important things, but the picture above is a pretty good metaphor for where we are at. Notice the giant super laser. The business end of this thing is all there.

I've been able to process Bike 29 orders in a pretty timely fashion, thanks to the flexibility to do business wherever I have an internet connection. I've been able to ship in stock items very quickly, and things I have to build, like wheels, have not taken any extra time than they normally would have. Sometimes, I amaze even myself...

Here are a couple of updates for folks that may be waiting for stuff. If I haven't addressed you individually, please excuse me.

Wheels
Building them like mad, 3 sets built today to ship tomorrow. Will be continuing building wheelsets throughout the week. I expect no further interruptions here, pending availability of King hubs. They are a little shy of certain colors.

Jet 9
Niner is experiencing a production delay. Current projections are an end of March ship date, but we'll have to see. If you haven't ordered one, now might be a good time, as I only have a few sizes and colors left that aren't spoken for.

Five Hills Bikes
It's coming, bigger and badder than ever. Obviously.
But, what you may not know, is that I have a growing demo fleet. When the trails dry out, you will be riding distance from finding out why bikes like the Bandersnatch and RIP9 are so awesome. I even have a couple of Superfly's on the way for the new digs.

The best part about it, no Bothans were harmed!

Souvenirs from the Garden State

2008-03-15T20:03:00.005-04:00

Well, what can I say? After a serious bought of indecision, I decided to leave my camera back at the hotel, only to see that everyone else brought theirs when we got inside. The parking lot was a trip, it was just like that movie "Heavy Metal Parking Lot." People tailgating, drinking beers, the evening air filled with the sounds of Maiden blasting from car stereos, and the smell of meat smoke rising from their grills.

I watched the show from the 3rd row, this time in a much tamer crowd relative to the Montreal show of last year. Not only did they almost every one of my favorites, there were some serious pyrotechnics, the heat was amazing as 15 foot flames shot into the air during Number of the Beast. The epic 13 minute Mariner delivered with a spectacular light and firework display. The infamous feather mask came out for Powerslave. It was mind blowing. Eddy made his appearance in the encore as the "futuristic Eddy" from the Stranger in a Strange Land album cover. I was kicking myself the whole time for not bringing my camera, but still managed to have the time off my life.

And what could be better than 2 hours of up close and personal, in your face, live Iron Maiden? One of your own coming home with a prize. Nat caught one of Nicko's drum sticks. Now that is a souvenir!

To add some more good news (at least for us), Maiden is adding more dates to this incredible tour in the US, including a show in Boston in June.
...hmmm, guess where I'll be?
With my camera this time.

MAIDEN!

2008-03-13T22:08:00.004-04:00

This was my very first "CD", remember those things? I received this CD as a gift from my stepfather in 1985.

Before CDs, there were records. Growing up I had records. All of my Maiden records were played on an early 70s vintage Goodmans Module 80 turntable, with a SHURE diamond stylus. I know it was a diamond stylus, because I gave up candy for 2 weeks to buy the replacement for the broken one that came with the stereo. The switch was amazing. I loved my records, but holy cow! This newfangled CD thing was AMAZING!

Sadly, this particular CD is lost. The last time I had it was in an old car I used to own, where it resided in the 3 spot in the 6 disc changer. I distinctly remember having to drive to Burlington at 7:30 on a Saturday morning for a sales meeting, when I worked for a company that almost killed my spirit, and what got me there, was the EPIC, Rime of the Ancient Mariner. What an amazing song...

So, Maiden's new tour is a re-enactment of that most amazing album. I have floor tickets. For tomorrow night.

God willing, I'll make it to the venue unscathed, and will get to see the band I've loved for 25 years rock the house!

The Move

2008-03-12T13:20:00.002-04:00

We continue to make progress with the new space.

While it is pretty nerve wracking, it is also a lot of fun. I did not get any sleep last night. I count myself lucky to have this new opportunity to set up a service area to fit my needs, instead of having to make do with the space allowed.

While space will always be a limiting factor, I have more than enough room now to have a wheel building station, and an easily accessed parts washing area, and a place to work on suspension forks. I can't wait to see how it all works when we get into full swing!

Once the service area is done, we'll turn our eye to the sales floor...

New Fixtures

2008-03-10T18:22:00.005-04:00

One of the most challenging aspects of dealing with every day life in a bicycle repair shop, is that bikes take up a lot of space. They are always moving; repairs being dropped off, repairs being done, repairs being picked up... There is never enough room, and you are almost always moving other bikes to get to any specific one.

The current, or old shop, has 16 hooks. They were always full, and overflow went on some racks I had outside. They had to come inside when the weather was bad, or when I was closed. 16 is not very many hooks. What a PITA.

The location of those bikes was less than convenient, but you make do when that is your only option. My rim storage was on the other side, tires around the corner in a cramped alley with poor lighting. It was the only place the repair bikes could go. Sometimes I had to walk 30 ft to go 6.

With the blank canvas, many ideas were hatched, and a couple of the cool ones were immediately built. What we have here is a bike hanging system that will hold up to 30 bikes. There is no such thing as perfect, but this comes pretty darn close to it with respects to the space alotted.

Also new, is a rim and tire rack, that will have a large storage shelf. There is more than enough room to hold everything neatly in one spot. Things are looking good.

The goal is to have the shop squared away by Friday, as I am heading to New Jersey to see Iron Maiden!

Deconstruction Begins

2008-03-07T07:56:00.004-05:00

As we move forward with the move, it is becoming apparent that there is more to setting up a shop than I remembered from the first time. There is also a lot more to taking one down, especioally if you plan on being open for business. You can't move everything, unless you plan on doing it all at once.

Because Bike 29 is always open, I can't do anything that will disrupt that side of the business. I still need to be able to ship, which becomes difficult if you have your inventory scattered over a three miles.

Oh well, growing pains I guess.
Now the shop is in a choatic state, which most regulars know is not that far out of the ordinary for me. I moved a couple of large non essential items, with the help of Nat and his awesome Tundra, one of the counters, the large bike rack, the kids bike rack the 3 tier presenter. The other stuff will move when we are closer to "flick the switch" so to say. There is just so much stuff!

So with all the stress of moving and trying to keep it all straight, Nat and I decided to take advantage of the 40° sunny afternoon, and we went for a grind on the bikes. We are nearing true mud season, where the roads will be really soft and gooey. I'm hoping that the worst will be over by the time the Gravel Grinder happens, but you never can tell up here. We could be riding in a blizzard!

The wool jersey is awesome BTW! I wore that with a vest and was at the perfect temperature during the ride, in spite of the freezing cold mud that splashed up.

You can still sign up for what will most surely be the most fun you'll have on a bike in April. Proceeds are going to help maintian the Perry Hill Trail system. These trails see a lot of use, and there are a dedicated group of folks that take care of those trails all summer. They need your support!

29 Days of Madness

2008-03-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

I have made mention over the last few weeks of several large projects that we have going on at Bike 29. The biggest one is coming very soon. What is it? Well, for lack of a better description, we're movin' on up. That's right. I'm moving the shop.

I often lay awake questioning what exactly it is that I'm doing, but I always come to the same conclusion. We're upgrading. More than just a new space that's bigger, nicer, closer to the trails, it's an opportunity to take something that works, and evolve it into what we've always wanted to do. It's very exciting.

As things progress, you'll be able to see our dream unfold. April 1 is not very far away...

Wool Jersey Update

2008-02-26T18:36:00.003-05:00

No, it hasn't dissappeared. We're just getting the kinks worked out. The goal is to have a really amazing garment by the time our early spring hits. About the only thing we are getting hit with right now is more snow, which I guess is OK. I do like to snowboard, but after Saturday's jaunt, I'm ready to ride a bike again.

Here is the first prototype jersey. While we still have a few iterations to go through before we have it finalized, you know you'll want some of this...

All this frozen precipitation just serves to prolong the absence of real mountain biking out on our trails. Speaking of, did anybody catch my quote in the 50 trails issue of BIKE Magazine? Those are our very own local trails as featured in the Vermont section.

First Ride of 08

2008-02-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

Lately, I've been on sabbatical as far as riding bikes is concerned. The last time I threw a leg over a top tube with the intention of riding more than 10ft was late November of 07. This last year was a very busy year for me, lots of goals accomplished, but more than that was the overwhelming and compelling feeling that I had to ride. I could sense a burn out happening, and in my line of work, that is bad news.

One thing that I've learned from my past experiences, is that when I am over something, I am really over it. And by over it, I mean ready to check out.

Well, I won't go quietly. Snowboarding has been a great distraction. A few other projects that I am almost ready to divulge have also kept things fresh over the winter. I'm still horrendously busy, trying to balance a job, family, life, and still get some personal time to do the things I love to do, but some great things are going to happen this year.

And as I was looking forward to everything on the horizon, I realized, that if I didn't get my ass out on my bike and start riding again, I would be in very sorry shape once the snow finally does go away.

Yesterday, I just happened to have a free hour, and the late afternoon, above 30° temps were just warm enough for me to drag Red 5.1 out for a ride around the block. I also dragged my buddy Nat too, misery loves company...

I must say, that despite my prolonged absence from the saddle, I was able to attack Barnes Hill fairly easily. By fairly easily, I mean not throwing up or blacking out, which is typically what happens on the early rides. I was expecing to be in much more pain. I also missed Red 5.1.
What fun it is to ride bikes!

Even though, my toes instantly turned to ice, and the dirt(ice) road section was nothing more than an exercise in crisis management, followed by a blistering downhill on a paved road that was partially glare ice, it was fun, and the first of many fun rides coming up in 08.

Details: 8.74 miles, 870ft of elevation gain, 54 minutes, 1 gear.

Nice sticker placement Nat!

The Spider

2008-02-22T19:28:00.003-05:00

Here it is, finally finished. Now if we could just get rid of some of this snow!
This bike will be one of the many new ponies in our stable for folks to try out this summer. I've always felt that "try before you buy" is the way to go when it comes to high end mountain bikes. Not too many shops up our way would have something like this to actually ride in the woods while trying to decide if it's your thing or not.

I like to think we are the exception.
I'll be rolling out the new demo fleet as it gets completed over the next few weeks.

This Spider is a size large, and features the new Fox F29 100mm fork. I put the King 5mm headset baseplate on it to add to the axle to crown measurement. Despite the added A-C length, the 44mm offset of the fork will ensure a quick handling ride. And most importantly, if nothing else, the bike looks very cool. My philosophy on this subject, is that if it looks cool, you'll enjoy riding it more. BMW M3s look cool, therefore, they ought to be pretty fun to drive right?
The color pallette is white (duh), ano red, ano silver and ano black.

The components are typical to many of the builds we do here, Royale wheelset, set up tubeless, X9 drivetrain, Juicy brakes. I had a perfectly good XTR crank sitting around, so I decided it was time for it to get some use.

All told, the bike weighs in at 27.55lbs without pedals. Not too bad when you consider we weren't trying to make it ridiculite or anything. I think a race build would easily be 2-4lbs lighter, depending on how far down that path you wanted to go.

We have a trip south planned in 2 weekends, down to the Leghigh Valley to visit family. This will most certainly be one of the bikes I bring. And when I say "one of", I plan on bringing two bikes. Not quite sure what the other one will be just yet... you'll just have to wait and see.

The First Event of 2008

2008-02-19T19:27:00.003-05:00

Winter still has a firm grip here. This picture is a squall rolling over Camel's Hump at sunset. Beautiful.

Still, I am getting very fired up to ride my bike. In preparing myself for warmer climes, I looked at my calendar for this coming year, and I was left scratching my head as to how I was going to get it all done. I mean, we have some pretty LARGE events we plan on being a big part of...
Well, none of it is completely out of reach, but if we don't aim high, we may never make the mark.

There are many things that have not yet been finalized, but I can tell you about a very important one, the first event of 2008.

The Five Hills Ride -Gravel Grinder Spring Classic
25.5 miles, 2900 vertical feet of climbing, up and down the 5 hills of Waterbury. It goes off rain or shine on April 20th, leaving downtown Waterbury at 9:00am. The ride will take you on some paved, but mostly unpaved roads, with some serious climbing, but also some serious descending.

April can be extraordinarily unpredictable, so it could be really calm, really cold, raining, snowing, or 70° and sunny or all of the above. Price of admission is $23, you get a super cool T-shirt, fed, supported along the way, and anything left goes to the Stowe Mountain Bike Club, to help raise funds for the work that still needs to be done on Perry Hill. I can usually do this ride on my single speed in about 3 1/2 hours, and I'm not particularly fit. There will be a sag wagon at various points along the way, as well as water, snacks and "recovery" drinks.

Sign up through Active.com.

If you are coming in from out of town, please let us know, and we can help you find a good rate at a local B&B. This is MUD season after all, and rates will most likely be attractive.
I really hope to see you there... if you think you can hack it!

Home Finally

2008-02-18T20:49:00.002-05:00

As I spent most of yesterday stuck in the gleaming jewel of our civilization known as Newark, I had some time to reflect on the happenings of this last weekend at Frostbike. A whirlwind trip for sure, I was very flattered to have been invitied to this dealer only event. I took in some very valuable info at the seminars, saw some cool new products, but most importantly, got to put some faces to names.

The most anticipated meeting was with Guitar Ted. After many years of lurking on each other's blogs, and several failed attempts to connect at Interbike, we finally meet. I had a great time catching up with you man! After our conversations, it looks like we may see each other again this year, with bikes even.

I had dinner with Brent from Twin Six with Tim Grahl and Arleigh from Crooked Cog at a cool little Minneapolis neighborhood restraunt called Chatterbox. I felt right at home there, good food, good vibes, and a Scooby Doo mural on the bathroom wall.

I also spent some time catching up with Jason from Salsa as well. Despite missing Jason's presentation, I know there are some cool things ahead...

My return flight was later inthe day on Sunday, but stormy clouds were in the forcast for the north east. I tried to get out of dodge early, only to be thwarted in New Jersey. You'd think with the amount of time I've had robbed from my life from that place, I'd know better, but I always have that hope that things will work out. Well, they didn't. I did get home though, for which I am very greatful. Big thanks to Aaron for the opportunity to sneak in to the President's Club. They have beer and TV in there!

More news on the horizon from Bike 29 shortly...

Exciting New Fork Update!

2008-02-16T14:08:00.003-05:00

The Rock Shox Reba is by far the most ubiquitous 29er fork on the market. They are everywhere, and while it's a great fork, not much has changed about it since it's release in 02.
Well, all that has changed now.

The fork has been completely redesigned from the ground up, and now looks to be once again, the top dog in the 29er suspension fork world.

While this fork is a prototype, I'm sure the production version will not be that different. It has a proprietary 20mm QR axle called the "Maxle", which is heralded as one of the best and easy to use 20mm axle systemson the market. No tools necessary, some 20mm froks a PITA to deal with if you have to ever transport your bike, not so much of a problem now.
It also looks as if the industry has accepted post mount style brake mounts, and they are featured on the new Reba. Rock Shox is the last of the major players to make this jump.
Most interesting, is the travel looks to be around 120mm, but this is just a guess. There is a lot of stanchion tube showing though, making me think that there will be more than the current 100mm. Another good move.
And finally, the offset of the fork is a reported 46mm. This will make for a quicker handling ride, which will be another welcome update on this fork.

All in all, pretty sweet huh?

Fly on the Wall

2008-02-14T23:36:00.002-05:00

How fun it is...
I'm in the beautiful but chilly Twin Cities region, attending Frostbike.
Thrown by QBP, or the "Q" as they are sometimes known, Frostbike is a dealer only event, filled with vendors, seminars and the opportunity to meet some pretty cool folks. A junkett if you will.

I will admit, that while the hardware end of things is always cool (I love new stuff), it's the people that really make the difference. I met my new inside person at the Q. I met a couple of other dealers and had cool conversations about 29ers and the like.
I spoke with the infamous Guitar Ted for the first time over the phone. After two years, we may actually get to meet. He'll be here sometime today.

I also overheard some shop guys ratcheting on about stuff at the bar. These were the the kind of guys that "know more than anyone else" about everything to do with bikes, and look down upon stuff or customers that fail to measure up. It's always amusing to me that guys like this are able to make a living.

Also amusing to me, was the mentality of some of the shop owners. There is no question that we are in for some tough times, and it is going to be a tough slog for some. Most of the seminars I've attended were geared for ways to prepare for this sort of thing, and boy oh boy, did I learn some stuff. I'm not calling out any shops in particular, but it's the small, more adaptable businesses that are going to come out shining from this crunch. It's the way of things. It's why there aren't any dinosaurs anymore.

Also very funny, is the impression I get from a large Burlington shop that seems irked by my presence at this event. Yeah, I'm here too! Suckers...

Tonight, I'll be having some cocktails with the Salsa crew, and then rolling out of the hotel to visit with Twin Six for a while.

2008 Jay Winter Challenge

2008-02-12T20:07:00.006-05:00

Friday February 8th 2008, marked the beginning of something so crazy, you have to be there to truly get it.
It was the commencement of the 2nd annual Jay Winter Challenge. I attended the event last year, invited by the race director himself, Dan DesRosiers. Over the last year, we have gone back and forth on various crazy bike race ideas, and I'm quite pleased to have gotten a chance to know this man. He is a very twisted individual, and quite crazy. My kind of people!

He's the same guy that brought us the Jay Challenge, the ultimate endurance triathalon. 70+ mile bike ride, 30+ mile off raod marathon, 20+ mile kayak across Lake Memphromagog.
The winter challenge is no stroll through the woods. It is a bike only event, a 30 or 10 mile ride on snowmobile trails, and new for this year, a 25 lap figure 8 ice crit. Oh boy!
When I saw the course I was shocked, amazed and utterly flabbergasted. There would most certainly be carnage!

The crit was Friday night. A crew of snowmobilers had groomed a figure 8 out on the frozen lake. A couple of road contruction generators and lights and voila! A race course. I must admit, I wish I had brought my bike. Watching the 25 laps around this moebius loop af death on ice was some of the most amazing bike riding I'd seen in a while. Among those that raced, were some folks I know, Brook Scachard, Racin'Rick from ME, and to my amazement, none other than Captian Dondo. Yeah, that's right. THE Captain Dondo. For those that don't know, he's one of the originals to the sport of mountian biking. I used to read his atricles back in the day when he used to write for Mountain Bike magazine, roughly 14 or so years ago. We share many of the same values as cyclists, but I digress...

The race started with blast from the air horn, and the fury around the 8 began. I figured it would be about lap 6 when the opportunity for carnage would rear it's ugly head.

Fortunately (alas?) it didn't come, but it was pretty close a few times. Cooler heads managed to prevail, as the lead group were left to charge through the darkness, and those pushing from behind, were kind enough to let the flyers ahead of them at the crossover. I had a powerful personal moment, standing on the ice in the calm 8° night air, as I realized that while some were there to race, all were there to have fun. How rad is that? I almost cried.

Saturday morning I left Waterbury at 6, dragged my buddy M2 up to Newport, and set up for the main event. The weather was better this year, warmer, more snow.Well, may be not better for the riders, but better for those of us that stood around in the snow, as the daytime temperatures climbed, the snow got really soft. There were 2 road sections that were removed from last year's course, which would add about an hour ot the race time.

(Racin' Rick)

There were a couple of guys who didn't let it bother them, and managed to crush the field in record time (results at the end). The race temperatures started in the high teens, and warmed up to the mid 30s by noon. The weather in VT can be quite unpredictable in February, we've had quite the snowfall this season, the event was perfectly nestled between two major winter storms.

The Results:
Brian King was the first to finish, riding an ice spike Specialized full suspension bike in the 10 miler
Alec Petro finished the 30 miler shortly thereafter on his Pugsley.
Lea Davidson (Trek pro rider) was the first to finish the 30, and Rebecca Van Dyke finished the 10.

The complete details can be found here.

Good job to everyone who came to the race. I hope to see you all again next year.

Holy Crap!

2008-02-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

Boy did we ever manage to squeeze a lot into 2 1/2 days.

Friday afternoon, I headed up to Newport VT to check out the "ice crit" portion of the Jay Winter Challenge. Newport, is practically on the other end of the universe from us. I started my day in Burlington, and drove 2 hours in the afternoon to reach the crit in time. I'll have a detailed post on the event in the next day or so, there is simply too much to talk about in one post! I spent Saturday morning at the big race.

And speaking of events, we had our first annual Big 2.9 sale this weekend. We did a lot of work on the front end of this, as we knew we wouldn't be able to physically manage the sale, as we were double booked. Luckily, everything went smoothly. The website did what it was supposed to do, and we'll just say that I'll be busy over the next couple of days shipping everything out.
Having only a few free hours this morning, it was spent on the mountian, where an overcast morning turned into a serious blow down storm. In our last 2 runs, our tracks were quickly being covered up by the pounding snow. I estimate that it was coming down about 2" an hour, maybe more.

At the end of this week, I head to Minneapolis for Frostbike. It's a trade show put on by Quality Bicycle Products (QBP, or The Q as it may be known to shop folks). It's a distributor that pretty much has it all, and every year, they have their own mini trade show. I hope to actually meet up with the infamous Guitar Ted this time around! I'm also hoping to spend some time with our friends at Twin Six.

Well, back to the grind for me...

The Big 2 . 9

2008-02-07T22:52:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's coming. Some might say it's already here...
Sorry for the radio silence, it is a monumental task to get everything organised for this 1 day sale, and work, and have a kid, and get some time to enjoy lifeto stay sane.
I have updates for the demo Spider, tomorrow is the Jay Winter Challenge, and this morning Mandy and I shredded some serious gnar.
Gnar means powder for those that are unfamiliar with the term. We snowboard too, and this morning, we were blessed with 18" of fresh on trail, and sometimes chest deep off piste. It was awesome. It was the perfect release for us, the answer to many long days and nights staring at a computer screen.
Even though it isn't bikes, it's still flying through the trees! Beleive me, there would be pictures, except that digital cameras don't really like snow that much. I haven't had turns like this in years.

The BIG 2.9 happens on Saturday, but the savvy shopper could score some deals early if they were savvy enough. Ironically, I'll be away from the computer and phone on the big 2.9, I'll be up in Newport, VT, covering the Jay Winter Challenge. With any luck, all the time we've spent getting the website in order will be worth the effort. We've gone to great lengths making sure that the web is up to date, and able to handle the traffic.

Up next, the Jay Winter Challenge!

Business News

2008-02-01T19:52:00.001-05:00

There are going to be some exciting things happening in the next 2 months.
First of all, we've been sneaking a new look on our website, little by little.
One of the problems about "doing it yourself" sometimes, is that you run out of time to effectively "do it". This was a problem with the webstore. Since the site was set up, component models changed, parts were redesignated, prices have changed etc. It was a lot to juggle. We now have a little help on the back end of things, and we'll be streamlining the catalog as we go.
We're going to be staying pretty 29er-centric on B29, but we'll still be offering the parts and gizmos we use and love. Think of it as January Thaw Cleaning. Same great stuff we always sell, but without the fluff.

Five Hills Bikes is going to become a bigger part of the picture. Besides being the mothership for B29, it is a shop that services the cycling needs of local community and beyond. We're making some pretty significant changes in it's operation too. Still can't divulge the whole picture yet, but let's just say this, it will be a very big deal.

We are planning a spring kick off ride in April that I will announce this comming week.

I write this in the middle of a nasty bought of weather, that has pretty much brought the entire northeast to a standstill with freezing rain and high winds. It seems as if the precipitation has remained mostly frozen up here, which will make for some good turns in the morning!

Owning your own business is full of ups and downs, especially a seasonal business such as mine. It's important to take the good with the bad. While I'm enjoying winter to the fullest, with lots of days on snow already (and many more to come) I look forward to warmer weather, wearing shorts, and cooking outside comfortably. I especially look forward to throwing a leg over the ole' two wheeler again.

The Spider Crawls Along...

2008-01-28T19:30:00.000-05:00

So the next big decision to make was what fork to put on the bike. With everything out there, I had a hard time figuring out which way I wanted to go. In my mind, the Spider is a racy kind of bike, and needed some racy features. There are 3 forks that come to mind.

1. The ubiquitous Reba Race. The new updated Push-loc feature is really nice, and gives you that ability to lock the fork out for a hard slog out of the saddle without having to reach down.

2. The new kid on the block, the Fox F-29. It has a lockout, but it is a manual lock out, meaning you have to take your right hand off the handlebar to activate/deactivate it. But it does have some nifty features that make this totally OK.

3. The White Magic 110. White continues to improve the damper, and deliver it in a beautiful, clean package. The Magic uses a magnetic valve that negates the need for any type of lockout by determining where the force is coming from. Bumps from above (i.e.you) are ignored, while bumps from the ground are devoured. I own one of these forks, and love it.

These are 3 very legit choices for anyone who wants a trail bike they can also race. That is the prime directive of this build. It has to be able to handle it all.

Now, here is where it gets fun. Intense designed the Spider with a 73° head angle. For those that don't know, that is steep. Like a road bike steep. Steep = fast handling. There have been a lot of nay sayers about this number, in that fast handling = twitchy, but everyone that has ridden one of these bikes on trail agrees, it flys through the trees with the greatest of ease. I'm really sorry if you don't get to ride your bike through trees. It is fast handling though, but not twitchy.
You'll recall my experience on the 5.5 Proto, similar angles, similar kind of ride.

The really important number is the offset of the forks.
Offset is the perpendicular distance the axle sits in front of the center of steering axis (headtube line), while trail is the horizontal distance on the ground of the center of the tire's contact patch to where the center line of the steering axis hits the ground. Trail effectively is measured backwards because the axle's position over the ground "trails" the center line of the steering axis. Offset is the distance forward of the steering axis but on a different plane. As offset increases, trail decreases and handling becomes more responsive.

The Spider was designed with the Reba in mind, as Rock Shox was the only real 4" fork on the market for the longest time. The Reba has a 38mm offset. The new generation of forks (White, Fox and Manitou) live around 44mm. Quicker steering forks.

I'm not going to get into a diatribe about which is better, that's not what this post is about.

Let's think about the fork for a bit, while we move on...

Wheels.

Every once in a while, you find something that works. When that happens, I run with it. A prime example is the Royale wheelset. I put a LOT of these wheels under a lot of people, and not one person has been disappointed. While they aren't the ultra-lightest (around 1800g a set) they are durable, customizable, and made from the best stuff around. It's the very same wheelset I use, and if a 230lb guy like myself can't beat 'em up (and I try!), well...
So, yeah, Royales with the Arch rims.

Another component of this build, is that I would be "re-introducing" some components back into the wild where they belong. I have a pile of tires that would make you sick. But hey, if you were to call and ask me what I thought about any tire that's out there, I'd be able to answer you. Truthfully too.
My favorite all-rounder is the Bontrager Jones ACX TLR. I had a set laying about, so that's what I mounted. And I'll add that they aired up first time, and have not lost even 1 psi since Saturday.
How about that?

OK back to the fork.

I went with the Fox F-29, for 2 reasons (not really in order)
1. Cosmetic. It looks cool. I don't care who you are, if you were spending your hard earned dough on a bike, you'd want it to look cool.
2. Performance. I know from experience that the Fox is a stiffer platform than the Reba. The offset question was giving me some headaches, so I decided to add King's 5mm baseplate to the King headset (like you thought I'd put something else on there). This effectively slackens the head tube angle, or slows down the steering. We'll see how it rides soon.

While the White fork is the one I'd go with on my own personal bike, it is a little too tech for the average Joe to easily set up and enjoy properly, and as this is ultimately a demo bike, I want it to be as user friendly as possible. I'll be doing a shootout between the afore mentioned forks in the not too distant future, where I can really get into the nuts and bolts of these cool devices.

Up next, the components!

Jay Winter Challenge

2008-01-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

Friday February 8th will mark the beginning of the 2nd annual Jay Winter Challenge. I attended the first race lace year, and it was a lot of fun. You have to have a certain amount of crazy in you to find stuff like this fun, but there you have it. I like it because it proves that with the right attitude, the human spirit can prevail in any conditions. It's in this spirit that Dan Des Rosiers created this race.

This year, the event is slightly different.
There has been the addition of n "ice criterium" on Friday night. Sounds fun, but the word "ice" makes me think that some of these will be absolutely necessary. I must admit, I'm tempted to join in the madness. We'll have to see when we get closer to the event. It consists of 20 laps around a 1/2 mile course in the dark. These are the sort of shenanigans I truck with.

Saturday the 9th features the main event as held last year, a 30 miler on groomed snowmobile trails over rolling hills, or a shorter 10 mile race that follows the final 10 miles of the course.

An important note to keep in mind, is that the course is on private land, and it is asked that no one pre-rides the course, or rides it after the event. There is a special arrangement with the local snowmobile club and local land owners that make this event possible. I don't even need to say that anyone disrespecting this arrangement could jeopardize the future of this event.
Lecture over.

Bike 29 will be there for the crit and the race the following day, offering tech support to anyone that needs it. I'll follow up with a full report on the event itself. I expect that turn out will be pretty good. Last year drew 50 or so riders, I imagine that number to double this year. Everyone had a blast, myself included.

Race info can be found on the race blog.
If you want to sign up, the info is on Active.com. You have until Feb 1 to register.

Up next, Spider update!

Decisions...decisions...

2008-01-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

Welcome to part 1 of the "Winter Project"-- an experiment in which I examine the different paths and choices involved in building up a custom 29er.

This is going to be interesting, because, even though I know what the outcome is going to be on this project (demo bike for the new Bike29 demo fleet), I'm still on the fence about many of the components that I have to choose from. I'm going to take it one step at a time.

So, for example, let's say I'm looking for that XC full suspension rig of my dreams. I've done a bit of research, and have narrowed my needs down to a few key points. I need a XC rig, am not too afraid of a price tag, as I expect the highest quality for the dollars spent. I don't need to go custom, but I want a bike that I can race, or ride all day. This is a chunk of change, and a bike like this, is going to be ranked highest in the "quiver".

I find the most awesome bike shop ever, and give them a call.....

There are a lot off choices out there, but I settle on a US made Intense Spider. It is geared towards that XC race set, but with 4" of travel, and with correct set up, it can easily accommodate my needs.

So here we reach crossroads #1.

I can have a painted frame (size large) that weights 6.59 lbs. Not terribly heavy for what it is. It's Pearl White, and quite possibly the coolest color I've seen on a bike in a while (next to Atomic Blue of course).

Or...

I can have a Works colored frame that weighs 6.34 lbs. One quarter of one pound. It all adds up you know. Do I pull out the stops and go ultralight?

While I'm not an expert racer, I do like nice bikes, and I need a bike that can be as precise as an scalpel, or as reliable as a hammer. And I like folks to notice my nice bikes, so, I'll go with the white frame. Maybe I'll loose that 1/4 lb of off my winter pelt.

As this is such a high end frame, I'm going to re-use some of the parts from other bikes that I have to keep the overall cost down, but boy oh boy, I am stoked on this thing! I'm interested to get feedback from any readers out there as far as what fork I should put on this thing.

Do you have an opinion? I'd love to hear it.

Up next, fork and wheels and tires!

Procrastination - The Canzo Report

2008-01-19T13:39:00.000-05:00

Here is a guest blog, by non other than our very own Dave Anderson, or DA as we affectionately call him. Dave bought a Voodoo Canzo this fall, and this is what he thinks of it.

The original title was to be “The Canzo Report”, but as most people who know me I tend to put things off for a while. So 3-1/2 months later here it is.

I had been talking to George for a while about getting a full suspension bike to go along with my Niner Sir 9….something to fill out the quiver. I was also looking for a full suspension ride to use in the Vermont 50. I was reluctant to just go out and purchase one until I was able to give it a test drive and make sure it was I wanted. Then along came the Canzo.
I was just searching through the Web and came across this bike. A full suspension frame for less than $900… That’s cheap for a full suspension frame! Well, compared to around $2,000 for most others I had been looking at. So after a few emails with Voodoo (very helpful) and talking things over with G, I pulled the trigger (and crossed my fingers) that things would workout.

The Frame:
The bike comes in one color only – Swamp Green, which is one thing that caught my eye. I tend to go with some off colors anyway and just liked the looks. The rear triangle though, has black seat stays and chrome colored chain stays. I think the bike would have looked a lot better with an all black rear triangle. The paint job is not bad on the bike. I did have an issue with a few spots, because of cable routing, where I have already worn through the paint. Then again I have seen this on many other bikes also. The frame comes with a Rock Shox MC3.3 (4” travel) rear shock. See ride report for my thoughts on the shock. As for weight, we did not get a chance to weigh it before we built it up. I have heard anywhere from 5 to 7lbs. The total build when it was complete came in at just under 29lbs.

The build:
Well the build so far is a combo of new and stolen parts off my Niner. Wheel set is a combo of DT Swiss hubs and a Salsa Delgado rim in the front and Stan's in the rear. Went with a Truvative double on the front (hardly ever use the big ring anyway), Sram X9 shifters and derailleurs, Thompson seatpost and stem, old riser bar. Nothing fancy, but that’s the way I like it.

The ride:
First of the geometry of this bike is not to far off from the Niner, so I figured with some tweaking it could all workout. The first ride did not start out the best. George was kind enough to come in after hours to put the bike together the night before our annual East Burke trip. After a few adult beverages and some building fun it was completed, but the fine tuning…handle bar adjustment, seat position were not finalized (not a George issue, just a time issue). So the first ride was spent tweaking a few things and making adjustments. It was also hotter then hell and I was being dragged around by J-pro. The biggest adjustment was the rear shock. For the last 4 yrs I was mainly riding a hard tail, so messing around and adjusting the rear shock was something new to me. After messing around with things I ended up keeping the pressure at 100psi. This gives enough suspension while also letting me stand up and hammer up a hill with out much bob at all. Just to note that the shock has 3 positions…locked out, semi damped, and fully open. I usually have the shock in the middle position and will occasionally lock it out on longer climbs. I found the in the full open position the bike is too spongy. Another issue I had a first was a slow turning front end. With the setup as first built I had the combination of riser bars and a stem with a 10º rise. This put me in a more up right position then my Niner and I believe this was the cause for the steering issues. After getting used to the bike I was able to overcome this. After riding this bike hard for a month ending with the VT 50 I was say that I am happy with the bike. It may not be the ideal bike, but for the money it is well worth it.

Winter Projects

2008-01-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year when most of the avid cyclists in my neck o' the woods are thinking about their new ride in the spring. Others are contemplating that big upgrade that will make their favorite bike dance on the trails.

I actually have a lot of winter projects, but not anything I can freely broadcast at this time. But as some folks are making these big bicycle decisions, I thought it might be pretty cool to "build" up a bike over the next few weeks, and share the process. I already know what I'm going to build, I have most of the parts, some are used, some are new. I actually had a little bit of a dilemma about what I was going to start, which I think will be an interesting story, decisions that maybe a potential new bicycle buyer might face.

Anyway, the finished bike will end up as one of our demo fleet, that will be available for use when the trails dry out this spring.

Here is your teaser...

British Invasion II

2008-01-12T19:33:00.000-05:00

An overnight trip to London without the kid was a lot of fun. Lots of walking around. Lots of sight seeing. We were spitting distance from St Paul's Cathedral, which is really impressive. I suppose that's why the Royal Family likes to get married there.

We found a great curry in our travels, but were unfortunately very disappointed to find that every "pub" in London is chain owned. Imagine walking in to a centuries old ale house thinking it would be authentic and full of character, but finding it was really something more like a TGIF only pub flavored. We did much better on our second day, and avoided these places like the plague, but were still horrified to see that they encompassed about 95% of what we walked past. We ended up getting the best pub experience at an ultra modern bar along the Thames near London Bridge.

We fit a lot into 24 hours, so here is the summary:
Garden and finding a really good curry house that my brother had taken us to 6 years ago on Portobello Market, Kensington Gardens and Palace, Royal History Museum, pub lunch, London Underground experienced during heavy tourist season, hotel check in (sweet place too!), more Tube, lots of walking around Covent Garden and Leister Square before finding crappy chain pub #2 (this is when we figured it out - same exact menu), walking back to Covent Garden, excellent curry dinner. More walking, then disappointing pub #3, bed.
Starbucks, no drip coffee or tea available (WTF?), Tube, Tower of London, with about 8 miles of tourists lined up at the ticket windows. We skipped it. I thought it would be cool to see the Crown Jewels, and get my picture taken with a Beefeater, but we were not int right frame of mind for queuing.

We did take the tower Bridge tour though, a massive feat of Victorian engineering. It was the one thing I had never done before.

Afterwards, we walked back along the South Bank, and took in such sights as the H.M.S. Belfast, the Design Museum, The Golden Hind, The Clink (yes, really), a bike shop that had never even heard of a 29er, the ever impressive Tate Modern before taking the train from Waterloo to Guildford.

It was all in all a great weekend.

We brought in 2008 with a gigantic box of fireworks, that when lit, shot rockets up into the air for 3 minutes.

Then there was the 18 year old single barrel whisky. Not single malt, single barrel. Oh, it was smooth, and it went down horrifically quick.

We were glad to get back to the states in one piece.

Strange Things Afoot at the Circle K

2008-01-09T18:41:00.001-05:00

We have had the wackiest January Thaw in recent memory. We went from 18" of snow, to -30° to 60° in less than a week. Crazy. Most of the snow on the valley floor is gone, and even Stowe has stopped running the lifts.

The worst part is, that the tease of 60° comes at a time when you are already sick of winter, and start thinking about riding bikes again. Unfortunately, it will probably not be 60 on a regular basis again until May. Oh well.

Lots of other things going on at Bike 29 though. We are working on some of the things we want to have ready for riding season, such as a website that will give you accurate and up to the date info on local trail conditions.
Not to mention a few top secret things that I can't tell you about yet. All in good time.

As the mercury drops again, and old man winter slowly returns, I'll leave you with an equally stormy vision of summer.

Up next, British Invaision II

British Invasion I

2008-01-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

The story of our trip can not be summed up in one boring post, so I will split it up. I'll do my best to sum up the trip as concisely as possible.

The trip from Pennsylvania to NYC was nothing short of epic. Heavy rain, a wrong turn, and an impromptu trip through Manhattan made for really good moods by the time we checked in to our tiny basement airport hotel room. At least I got to boo both Yankee's stadiums, new and existing.

Christmas Eve
We rallied as a family at 4 AM with too much baggage and an over filled shuttle bus, and got checked it and upgraded thanks to the nice lady at the ticket counter that knew what it was like to travel with a 4 year old.
Uneventful flight, good movies.

Christmas Day
Presents. Food. Drinks. Rain.

Boxing Day
Food. Drinks. Shameless laying about. Visit to the local pub. In fact, the picture in the last post was from the walk back. We did do some walking in between the laying about.

Day After Boxing Day
A trip to a zoo featuring smaller animals and monkeys. Who doesn't like monkeys? I took lots of pictures of monkeys. I love monkeys. Then, due to our proximity to the ocean, and because Keiran had to see the beach, my family realized why I'm not so keen on beach vacations. This is pretty much what I remember it being like (exaggerating).

Following Days
Pubs. A Pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. I don't remember it this way, but apparently it is a very Christmassy thing to go to. Pantomimes are funny, in that the audience is expected to participate. The jokes are always very corny, and there is always a man dressed up like a woman as a main character. Good stuff.

This gets us half way, will follow up some more later...!

Home Again

2008-01-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

It was a long trip, but the time flew by. It seems like we were only gone for a couple of days, when in reality, we were out for almost 2 whole weeks. I just got back from the shop, making sure that I had everything I need to be ready for the onslaught of catch up that begins tomorrow.
Thankfully, many of the folks I need to deal with were just as busy as I was over the holidays.

So what was I up to this whole time?

I was visiting my mom in England. Some folks may know that I grew up there. Since I've lived over here in my late teens, twenties and thirties, I've only been back a handful of times. It was my first British Christmas in 19 years. It was great. Too much food. Too much drink.

Now when we make these big travels, there are three of us, wife and boy and myself. I have never made an Atlantic crossing with so much baggage and stuff. I felt for sure I would have a nervous breakdown.

I'll bore you all to death with how I spent my Xmas vacation over the next few days.

I will say, that I am glad be home home, even though it's -30° right now. I know this because I just walked the dog, who is also glad I'm home! He had a great vacation with a good friend of ours, and he spent it laying in front of a fire the whole time.

Last Post of the Year

2007-12-31T11:47:00.000-05:00

And what a year it's been
I'm still in the UK enjoying what will most likely be my last days off in 2008 (already). When I return to the shop on Thursday, I 'll have to hit the ground running. It was not quiet while I was away.
Things to look forward to in '08? (besides the JET9):
New website
One day super sale on Feb 9th, mark your calenders...
More product reviews
And a couple of things that I'm still keeping secret for now...

Thanks to all that have helped Bike 29 this year. It means a lot to me, and I'm really excited for what's to come.

Happy New Year!

British Christmas

2007-12-26T16:51:00.000-05:00

It's a fun as it sounds. After our arrival on the "old sod", acclimatizing was the task at hand.
Fortunately, we were cushioned with deliciously prepared meals (thanks Mom!) and aged Scottish Whiskey (thanks Duncan!).

Christmas day was a blur, and now, in my Boxing Day post meal stupor, I think I've finally gotten the hang of the time change.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Being so far away is a little strange, but I have access to the whole wide world via the internet. It's business as I've dreamed...
I hope to wake up before 8am tomorrow. Fingers crossed..!

A Pennsyltasic Pre Christmas

2007-12-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

Normally, we head to Allentown for the Christmas holidays, but this year, we are using it as a base for our trans-atlantic hoo haw. Santa came a little early, so our boy would not miss out on a good old fashioned Pennsylvania Christmas.

This wee bike is actually a 29er, except it's in millimeters.

This is the first real day of my "vacation", and it has been filled with activity. After presents, it was time for emails, and brunch, which consisted of pre-noon Yuenglings and sandwiches. We then busted 3" of ice off the in law's driveway, and got it all clear for the great grandparents, who will be visiting for tonight's feast. I got two really nice blisters in the middle of my palms. Now crippled, I am forced to keep something cold in my hands at all times. I will be useless for the rest of the day. Bring on the whiskey!

As I write this, I'm listening to David Byrne's (of Talking Heads fame) streaming radio station. Every month, there is a different theme, and this month, it is the music of Ennio Morricone. Anyone who has watched a spaghetti western will immediately recognize his work. It's really interesting music, and great to listen to while building wheels.

Good stuff.

Tomorrow, it's off to NYC.

Pre Holiday Frenzy

2007-12-19T20:05:00.000-05:00

It is a busy time of year, every attempt I make at getting to bed early is thwarted by tasks that must be completed immediately, thus pushing my bed time further and further back.
I won't lie though, I get a kick out of the pressure. And so far (knock on wood) I've been dotting my i's and crossing all my t's. This will only last for a day or so.

The family is embarking on a voyage you see. We are headed to England (where my mom still lives) for a full on, no holds barred "English" Christmas. What that actually means, I have no idea, but we were warned. No matter what, I will not eat the figgy pudding. I don't even know what it is.

It will be a great opportunity to relax. I've been working on B29 straight for 2 whole years now without a break, and I think it's time to step back, gain some perspective, and plan for the upcoming year.

I know that it will be a big one.

Because of the miracle of modern technology, I'll be able to keep tabs on the business from afar, but will not be able to ship until we get home on the 3rd. Emails will be answered (hopefully in a timely fashion, it depends on how much I get dragged around sight seeing).
The blog will also be updated when I can get to it.

So, Happy Holidays to you and yours from Bike 29!

Mounting Frustration, (insert cussing here)

2007-12-12T21:20:00.001-05:00

One of the dangers of having an internet business, is the exposure to those that seek to do you harm. In other words, hackers.
After launching the Jet 9 promotion, the whole site was hacked, rendering the site useless for about 12 hours. No blog, no store, no nothing.

Fortunately, we caught it quickly, and have been making some changes that were a long time coming. The most frustrating part about the whole thing, is that there really isn't much you can can do. If someone wants to hack your site, they'll find a way. Most of the time, it's mean spirited little trolls that get off on disrupting things.

So, I apologize to anyone having a hard time viewing any B29 content. We are working on it as hard as we can.

How it gets done

2007-12-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of truly interesting commentary as of late, but as it stands, bike season is pretty much over in our neck of the woods.

Sure, there's really cool stuff happening, like the delivery of the brand spanky Vassago Bandersnatches, the super grippy Nokian Gazza Extreme winter tires (which Stan's up nicely I hear) or the long awaited Schwalbe Racing Ralphs. It's all here. Kermit AIR 9s? Here. RIPs? Here. Fox forks? Here.

This is the time of year we hunker down, make tweaks, improve, plan, and try to not loose our minds.

One of the things we do, is get outdoors. Just because we don't ride bikes, doesn't mean we don't have fun. Sunday was no exception. A large and partly unplanned posse of some of my closest friends got to play in the snow together. There is nothing finer than blasting down one of New England's finest ski slopes surrounded by your friends.

It doesn't happen often.

Now Booking Flights - Niner Jet 9

2007-12-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

Lots of folks ask me about the Niner Jet 9, and I'm pleased to be able to say, that we are taking pre-orders!

If you want to book one, simply visit the Niner Jet 9 page on my store.
And here's the kicker, Niner is giving away a really cool embroidered Patagonia Half Mass messenger bag to anyone that pre-orders their frame by December 14th. I have one of these bags, and it is nice! Think of it as a little Christmas present.
As if that isn't enough, Bike 29 is offering a pre-order special to our customers, in addition to Niner's offer. You need to sign up for our newsletter to get the deal though. And I'm not going to say what it is either, you have to sign up to find out!

If for some reason you are not familiar with the Jet, it promises to be one of the most sought after bikes of 08. With a little over 3" of rear travel, this bike is the ultimate XC machine. Pair the amazing CVA suspension design with the 29" wheels ability to roll over stuff, and you have a match made in heaven.

The first run of these will undoubtedly run out very quickly.
Catch your Jet, book your flights early!

Long Time Coming - The Slingshot Farmboy Review

2007-11-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

In mid summer, Slingshot saw fit to send me a frame to test. I am always grateful for the opportunity to try something new, but my dance card was pretty full this summer, so I asked them to send a medium frame size that I could get under more people.

People who may not get the opportunity to test many bikes.

People who haven't necessarily ridden everything under the sun.
Ordinary folks who just like to ride bikes.

Folks that had no idea that they were even riding a 29er.

Folks that pointed to it wondering "what the heck is that?" that got a chance to ride it, and still came away smiling.

Folks that knew what it was and came away smiling after a ride.

Here is an unedited first ride report from my friend Scott. For those of you who don't know him, he is an engineer for a prestigious "active sports" company, has won several industiral design awards, has a dog that eats the inside of cars, a man who loves Iron Maiden, beer and riding bikes.

He is also a pretty good bike rider, and has crashed enough to know what he is talking about.

***When I woke up Sunday morning, I was fighting a good-sized hangover from two straight nights of partying like I was still in college. At the ripe old age of 34, it takes me a bit more time to recover than it used to. So after I called George to confirm that our prearranged afternoon ride was still on, it was with a sense of mild apprehension and slight nausea that I headed out the door to meet up. As I drove bleary-eyed to the shop, little did I know I’d be adding to the fun by popping my 29er cherry too, by demoing the Slingshot Farmboy at George’s suggestion.

As we rode from the parking lot to the trailhead, I noticed two things. First, that my cold-weather riding gear is woefully inadequate. And second, that the front derailleur was adjusted a little off, so I couldn’t get down into the small chainring. Unfamiliar equipment, cold limbs, no small chainring, and oh yeah, that hangover - things were adding up to make it a less-than-pleasurable ride. However, I’m here to tell you that the Slingshot put those worries to rest.

Like I said, this was my first ride on a 29er. I’ve been listening to George sing their praises for years now, and I have to say, after just one ride, I might finally be a convert. So I’m not exactly sure how much the following impressions were due to the Slingshot itself, and how much they’re due to the big wheels under it.

Anyway, here goes. It was a really fun ride. It climbed easily, even without access to the small chainring, and that’s saying something for me, because I hate climbing. Granted, the trails we were on don’t feature any of the extended brutal climbs that I’ve come to know and despise here in VT, but still, I had no problem getting up even the trickiest sections this ride had to offer. It felt solid when getting up out of the saddle, and was light enough to really make use of the big tires’ ability to roll over roots and rocks. In other words, it seemed to roll over stuff really easily. Not a huge difference from my normal ride (a 26”-wheeled Heckler), but enough to notice. It handled surprisingly nimbly. It adjusted course without any backtalk or fuss, and held onto a line nicely when I was on-track.

The bike really came into its own when descending through a series of slightly bermed switchbacks. It was then that the Slingshot really felt like... well, like a slingshot. The bike really felt like it was loading up into the turns and getting shot out of them. Good fun. Really the only issue I had on the ride was a couple of instances when riding over obstacles on flat terrain where it felt like I was about to go over the handlebars when I wouldn’t normally expect to. I felt like I could have used another inch or so of wheelbase towards the front of the bike. However, as mentioned before, this was a demo bike, so it certainly wasn’t set up optimally for my body geometry. A different stem or fork might have gone a long way to eliminate that issue.

Overall, it was really fun, and I have to say I enjoyed the ride a lot, even if there were a few moments where I thought I might have to hurl up all of the previous night’s vodka and wedding cake all over the trail. For a first time, the Slingshot sure was gentle on me.***

I value an unbiased opinion more than anything else. and the feedback I got from this frame was very interesting. It certainly is an odd duck, but that doesnt make it bad. In fact, the Farmboy could be the exact thing you are looking for.

5.5.1

2007-11-25T19:33:00.000-05:00

So, here it is.

The finale.

It looks like this will unfortunately be the last time I get to ride this bike, as it needs to go back home so it can be ridden by those that created it. I will say though, I had a blast riding it. My first ride, definitely made me want more, and after I had made some necessary component switches to get the riding position I needed, I was a lot more in tune with what it was capable of.

The conditions today were near perfect. Overcast, but very warm at 38°, with about 3" of crunchy snow on the ground. No one had ridden bikes out on the trails in quite some time, and I was amazed that I was able to guess where the trail actually was. Freshies are always fun, even more so when you are riding your bike.

There were certain times when the big guessing game of "what exactly is under all this snow" got ugly, but the 5.5 seemed up to task. There were only a couple of times when I spun out. I was pretty impressed actually. For low speed technical handling, (with my stuff on it) I'd give this bike a 9. Some of the situations where my bars were crossed up, with no forward speed, that should put a person on the ground in a hurry, simply vanished with a quick stomp on the pedals. Good stuff.

One of the things about it that made me wonder what they were thinking though, was the integrated headset. In an effort to keep the front end down, they incorporated the headset into the headtube. They did it in a rather crafty way, but I was pretty disappointed to learn that I would not be able to change the frame geometry in my favor. To me, this could be a deal breaker. I would not want to use this integrated headset on my $2K+ frame, I'd want a King, or at the very least, the option to use one.

So, what are the big changes with all my junk installed? Well, not much. After I figured out that I couldn't raise the front end by adding the lower cup of a headset, or change the geometry enough by adding 5 mm of (working) fork travel, I pretty much tried to mimic the cockpit configuration I was most comfortable with. I ended up with about a mile of spacers under the stem, and then some above to make up the difference.

Now that my riding position was more familiar, I felt I could judge what this bike was capable of. I still kept smacking my heels into the swingarm though, and with the sag set where it needed to be, I actually smacked the pedals into the ground more than I did with my RIP. I will go so far to say, that with a few inches of snow on the ground, it becomes harder to think ahead in the pedalling department. You have no idea what lays under that cold white blanket.

Oh how I wish I could have gotten this bike in August!

Now the riding position felt pretty upright, even more so than with the RIP because of the 73/74° HT/ST angles. While it wasn't necessarily the best conditions to be objective about a bike, the way it handled spoke volumes. I was pretty pumped on how it did. Is my RIP too slack? A back to back shoot out on 6 Flags would be the only way to tell.

I never got to go very fast, but I did get to put it in some precarious positions. And it did well. Lateral stiffness seemed like it might be a problem on the trail, but it wasn't apparent during the ride. In fact, there were a couple of fast switchbacks that were executed with two wheel steering at speed. I knew where those wheels were at all times, and was able to count on them being there once I was used to the sensation. Just goes to show you, what you think on the sales floor, and how it works in the wild, can sometimes be two very different things. Think about the feeling when carving a powder turn on a snowboard or skis , I was there today on two wheels. Sweet!

Would I buy this bike? I think so. I'd love to ride it on Perry Hill in the middle of summer, but from what I have learned about it, in less than perfect conditions, it can certainly get the job done. We'll see how production frames differ from this prototype, but as far as I'm concerned, it's just about there. It made me smile today, and any time you walk away from a ride with a big grin, it's a good thing.

The Season of Poor Bike Riding

2007-11-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

Locals have a saying about our climate up here. We have two seasons, winter, and the season of poor sledding. In that context, I choose to look at it as, the season of poor bike riding, and riding bikes in what ever mother nature throws at you. I finished swapping the parts from my RIP9 over to the 5.5, took some measurements, and have everything ready for my next opportunity to ride. Bikes that is.

Today, I rode my snowboard. Here are some shots of the local bump.

Despite our frosty disposition, I'll be logging a couple of miles on the 5.5 tomorrow.
It will be cold.

Ridiculite

2007-11-21T09:08:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, you get to build up something so indulgent, that you can't believe your eyes when you see the finished product. And sometimes, what comes out is something that I classify as Ridiculite. The parameters are simple, it must be light, beautiful and functional. It doesn't even necessarily need to be the lightest thing in the world, it needs to work. Basically, it needs to function in a way that requires minimal maintenance down the road. There is a certain company that makes components that are some of the lightest bits out there, but they barely last a season, especially here in our wet New England climate. They do not fall under the category of Ridiculite.

So what we have here is a Niner One 9, with a White Bros IMV fork and a LOT of carbon, including the new and ultra sexy Truvative Noir 1.1 crankset. Delicious!

The wheels are Royale SS clones, built by a competitor who shall remain nameless (for obvious reasons). Because I built the bike up, I had the opportunity do a thorough inspection of the wheels. And they needed it. They weren't as round as I thought they should be, and they weren't dished correctly. It kind of validated my own personal idiosyncratic competition for perfection a little, especially when I spend a lot of time battling one wheel to get it just right. I can literally loose my mind on some wheel builds, but I always win, no matter how late I have to stay up. And I was pleased to learn that these competitor's wheels cost more.

Anyway, the result is still the same. Lots of tongues hit the floor when I rolled this baby out.
Enjoy!

First Ride - Intense 5.5

2007-11-18T12:53:00.001-05:00

After many weeks of waiting, I finally get to ride the bike that many folks are waiting for, the Intense 5.5 29er. While this bike is still in it's prototype phase, I would imagine that it is pretty close to production as is. Because Intense makes all their own bikes in house, small tweaks may be made, but we won't really know until the production bikes show up.

It was a balmy 30°, brilliant blue skies, with a few inches of freshly fallen snow. And the ride was fun.

Really fun. It was the type of ride that made you wish it wasn't Sunday, so you cold go out and do it all over again tomorrow.

Our location was Stowe's Town Loops, always the first place I like to take a new bike. I know this area very well, so I figure it's the best place to see what a new steed can do. It features a little of everything, without going to extremes (unless you know where to go) and is a good place to figure out if you forgot to tighten something.

So here are the numbers. I'm sure there are many that are waiting for this comparison. I'll give the numbers of the 5.5 followed by my own personal RIP9

Head Angle: 73°, 70°
Seat Angle: 74°, 70°
Effective Top Tube: 24.25"
Stand Over: 33.5", 34"
Wheelbase: 44.5"

From a numbers standpoint, you can see that for the most part, the bikes are pretty evenly matched, except for the frame angles. As I stated previously, it seems like Intense has gone out of it's way to keep the front end low on this bike. Why, I'm not quite sure. With a normal headset, the angles would be slacker. My RIP has a Fluid 135 on the front, the 5.5 has a coil sprung Fluid 130, again dropping the front end.
The bike set up has XC racer written all over it, but why would you race a 29lb 5" travel bike?

Yay!
The construction is top rate.
No noticeable feedback from the pedals at all.
I was able to ride things my partners in crime weren't able to.

Nay!
Low front end. I felt like I could go over the bars at any time, and often did.
Rapid Rise shifting, it is so counter intuitive, that I only stayed in a couple of gears.Who uses this stuff? So I only had a couple of gears I could use without skipping the chain all over the place. This is after all, a demo bike, and it came complete and beat. Even though the Rapid Rise deraillieur made me want to shift less, there were only a couple of gears that I could actually use. So maybe this is a positive. I didn't shift very much.
I think the fork was beat. There was no rebound adjustment, and no matter how much air I put in it, it always seemed to react the same way - like a pogo stick.
I kept clubbing my heels on the rear swingarm.

Say!
If I were to buy a bike like this, I certainly wouldn't build it up this way. But, based on this ride, if I were in the market for a long travel full suspension 29er, it could be a serious contender.
It did pedal very well in fact. Despite the goofy XC set up, I enjoyed the bike tremendously.
What seemed like an ungodly amount of flex in the rear end around the wheel's axle, it didn't come through in the ride. It tracked true.
I didn't notice the steeper angles so much as the lack of elevation at the bars. Still, it was responsive, and made last minute course corrections without any twitchy oversteer.
The "Works" finish is very cool, and all of the machined bits are anodized black to give it an air of seriousness.
I had to put my body weight in the rear shock to get the correct sag. Don't ask, it's a lot. I am willing to bet that my shock pump may not be that accurate, but it seemed excessive to get the recommended 20-30% sag.
Also falling under an anti-Shimano rant, are the XTR brakes. The 160mm rotors did an average job of slowing me down, but bigger rotors would be more apropos on a bike such as this, especially if you are in the Clydesdale range. Also the modulation seemed to vary throughout the ride.

The next step, is for me to pull all the XC components off of it, and replace them with bits more becoming of a 5" travel trail machine from my RIP. Then we'll see how it really shines in a true apples to apples comparison...

Stay tuned!

BTW
The tires I opted for today were the Bontrager Jones ACX TLR. I ran about 32 psi (with tubes - not my wheels) and found plenty of grip in the wet, leaf strewn, semi frozen ground beneath the snow. I figured the Crossmarks that came with the bike may not have performed as well.

Intense 5.5 29er Prototype - Out of the Box

2007-11-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

So here it sits.
Late, but here, on the eve of the first measurable snow of the season. It's all good though, I'm not afraid of riding it in the snow.

Out of the box, the bike weighs in at 28.1 lbs. It came fully equipped with XTR, (including my least favorite type of derailleur - the Rapid Rise), Salsa Delgado rims, Maxxis Crossmark tires and a White Fluid 130 fork. Very nicely done.

When sitting side by side with my RIP, it is immediately apparent that Intense did what they could to keep the front end down on the bike. The 5.5 has an FSA headset which essentially puts the bottom cup inside the head tube. My RIP9 sits a little over 2" higher in the front.

It just goes to show you how different folks interpret that way a bike should be built. To me, this seems a little too XC of a set up for me, I personally feel that a bike with this much travel should be a little more AM, but that is just an opinion.

The cool part about the way the bike is set up, is that I'll get a chance to ride it the way it came to me, and then when I put all my stuff on it, get to ride it the way I would build it. It will be interesting to see that comparison.

I'll get a chance to hop on it this weekend, and I'll report back right after the first ride

Can anyone guess what this is?

2007-11-14T22:16:00.001-05:00

It just arrived today. It's actually pretty easy to guess what it is.
More details to follow soon.

Fox F-29...First Impressions

2007-11-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

I'd be a liar if I told you I thought this fork was going to be "the answer". I've managed to survive this 29er world with everything we've had on the market all this time. I liked the Reba. The White came up as a serious contender. In fact, I really wanted to HATE this fork. I was almost desperate for it to fail, it is late to the party, and so expensive. I was hoping it would flop.

The truth, is that it is a really good fork. Really good? Yes. Really.

Stiff, plush and responsive. It's shiny and white. It has cool red and blue anodized bits just like an astronaut does. Astronauts are cool. Lots of folks will make the leap to 29erism just because of this fork.

While it works well, mine only got 85mm of travel. For a "100mm" fork, this is a little dissappointing. Despite the fact that in those 85mm, I did not notice the fork at all.
Am I that concerned? I would be if I had the fork mounted to something I was expecting the full 100 out of. But, performance is performance. I am willing to concede that it may not have been functioning as it should. It was a balmy 37° (that was in the sun). The ground was frozen. I've known Fox forks to not behave their best in the cold.

I figured, if a part were to misbehave, it would do so on a singlespeed, so I opted not to use the lockout, and still found the fork to do an adequate job. Despite my every attempt to stymie the fork, it was there, doing it's job. Went where pointed, sucked up every bump.

Of course this was only the first ride...

Speaking of first rides, Keller got a taste of 29erism, care of the Slingshot. Look for a review from him very soon.

East meets West

2007-11-10T18:19:00.000-05:00

Unless you've been living on another planet or under a rock, it's no secret that I like beer.

I used to live in San Diego, not 3 miles from Stone Brewing's headquarters. Funnily enough, they liked to ride bikes. Needless to say, back then, I was in a position to help them out, and they were in a position to help me out. I can recall a big BBQ blow out, that dispensed some of the owrst hangovers on record, and the feeble attempt by a friend of mine and I, when we tried to "finish" the keg of Arrogant Bastard Ale that we had tapped the night before.
Sadly we were beaten. How foolish we were...

In subsequent trips to SD, we would always make a pilgrimage to the brewery. We'd hang out in the brewery during happy hour, and bring some swag back to the east coast. Back then, It was cool to bring a case or two of 22oz beers on a plane. Not so anymore.

(Actually, I have a good story about this. Ask me about the 3rd worst plane ride of my life)

Up until just recently, beer this good was only available locally, at the brew pub where it was made. We didn't have such beers available in 6 pack form in VT until just recently. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of good beer, but not many that can give you "bitter beer face". I love IPAs. Full of hops and flavor, and completely undrinkable by many. An acquired taste for sure.
About a year ago, I found Smuttynose IPA, from our neighbors in New Hampshire. After a few years of de-tuning from Stone's brews, I found the Smutty to be pretty strong, both in character and flavor. Could this be a replacement? Can I stop thinking that the only good bottled beer came from the west coast?
Ponderous.

...Until one day a few weeks ago...
When I find a Stone Porter in the store across the street from my shop. Porter isn't my thing, but there it was, a west coast beer in the cold case not 100 yards from my work stand.
Well, there is only one place I know I can go for good IPA, or any obscure malted beverage for that matter. And what do you know? There are all of my old friends. Ruination, Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone IPA 6 packs.

WOW

Well now what?
I guess it's time for a shoot out.
East meets West.
Biggie meets Tupak.
I'm pretty sure I can find a way for both of them to get along...

In my belly!

It's Spiderific!

2007-11-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

Just to satiate my curiosity, I decided to build up one of the Spiders.
The build is fairly typical for a trail bike, Reba fork, Royale wheels, SRAM X9 drivetrain, Easton bars and Magura Marta SL brakes. I really dig the blue on blue color combo

The total package is 27.3 lbs, and is priced at $4699. It seems spendy, but consider that this frame is made in house at Intense's manufacturing facility in Temecula CA. A premium is to be paid for US craftsmanship.

Look for a more "racey" version to be built in the coming weeks.

Epic

2007-11-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Epics are one of those funny things that can be really good, or really bad, or have elements of either. Epics can take a very long time.
The good version could be that epic day long mountain bike ride with friends where everything was perfect, or something like Iron Maiden's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (March 14th!!!!!!).
A bad example would be something like the 45 mile ride that ended around midnight in Santa Cruz one summer (the last 3 hours were in pitch black).

In a true and classical sense just about sums up the completion of this bike.
8 weeks ago, it seemed that this should have been a snap. It's not exactly like we don't build these kinds of bikes all the time. Who could have foreseen the almost perfect storm that grew overhead as the build progressed?

First, the frames were not available.
Then the hubs.
Then the lost week of Interbike ensued.
Then the forks were delayed.
Then the forks were delayed again.
Then, the rear brake refused to cooperate.
Then the second replacement brake decided it was going to be a problem, but after many expletives and "one last try" , the nonsense suddenly stopped. Amazingly enough, I managed to keep my nerve through the whole mess.

Holy Cow!

But look at it! This is the first Atomic Blue RIP adorned with red bits. Coincidentally, the Easton logos on the handlebars are the same colors as the flames on the Terry saddle.
Pretty sharp.

Congrats Judy, and I'm really sorry it took so long.

Conditions at Stowe, not that epic.
Not quite yet...

Year in Review

2007-11-04T07:56:00.000-05:00

I know it's not the end of the year, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm done with cycling for the time being. With colder weather more abundant, and it being November and all (Hunting Season up here) I feel it's a good month to take off. Of course, there will be more rides, but that drive to get out there and crank isn't as strong. All the trees have shed their canopy, making the ground about as slick as can be. I took an unexpected express trip to the ground last weekend, care of 6" of fallen maple leaves.

It was a very unexpected year for me, lots of goals accomplished, both professionally and personally.

Here is my personal list, in no particular order
Rode my first century (114 miles)
Rode the Vermont 50
Rode the Five Hills ride on my singlespeed
Have ridden every month of the year again! (3rd year)
Found some new and exciting trails in PA
Rode over Smuggler's Notch not once but twice (from the Stowe side, very hard, especially those last 2 turns)

And professionally
Growth!
Co-sponsoring Catamount's Wednesday Night race series
Bike 29 jerseys, second batch on it's way!
Bike 29 wool jerseys, still coming...
Being able to stock more, I9s, Fox Forx, RIPs, Spiders and much more in the house!
My little cameo in Dirt Rag

It's amazing what you can fit into a season. And as our seasons change, I'm getting amped up for snow!

New for November

2007-10-31T08:35:00.000-04:00

Despite the rolling roller coaster of e-gremlins, we have been getting a lot of things done at the shop. With winter approaching, traffic through the door is slow, but traffic through the web is increasing. I never would have imagined that I'd be this busy during what some would say is a slow time of year.

Bring it on I say!

The shop is being tweaked to handle packing and shipping while the repairs are slow. I hope to be able to offer even faster turn around times on orders.

Here are some of the new bikes I have:

Just about all the '08 Fishers that matter.

I'll be posting a mini review of each of these beauties over the next few days.

Also, an update on the fabled "wool jersey".

Happy Halloween!

Who can guess which pumpkin is mine?

Computers are a Pain

2007-10-25T11:18:00.000-04:00

***All is well now and after some scrambling and a few long calls with tech support, everything should be back to normal and no serious harm done to anything but my stress level.***

Looks like someone hacked into our site and published a malicious code on it, causing lots of headaches.
Hopefully, this will be resolved soon, and it will be business as usual again.
Any readers having problems with orders or ordering, please feel free to give us a call. We can still do things the "old fashioned way".

The shop phone is 802.244.7330

Sorry for any inconvenience

A Good Weekend Ride

2007-10-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

Before I get started on the ride subject, I'd like to express my deepest sympathy for those in San Diego (German for a whale's......). I used to live in North County, am very familiar with the area, have some very good friends that are now on the run, and some that are still in harm's way. Be safe guys, I'm thinking good thoughts for you.

The original title of this post was going to be "The Evil Leaf Strewn Rock Gardens of Pennsylvania".
We spent the weekend in PA, visiting family. As always, we brought our bikes. I'd heard of some trails that we hadn't ridden yet, and it was there that we decided to look for some of PA's
secret gems. We have been exploring Jim Thorpe for a couple of years, but have yet to stumble across anything noteworthy. Mostly fire roads, with a couple of technical sections here and there, but nothing "exciting". Don't get me wrong, we always have a good time, but I'll be honest, it ain't Vermont.

If anyone reading disagrees with me, I invite you, no, challenge you to prove me wrong about Jim Thorpe! There just has to be some awesome singletrack out there. We just haven't found it yet.

I'd heard of some trails in Salisbury from a customer. After some diligent web surfing, we'd gotten directions and some sort of ride plan.
We started on top of a hill just north of South Mountain, in a sketchy park, with absolutely no indication that mountain biking was nearby. As I was pumping up the tires on Red 5.1, I notice just how dirty the parking lot was. Yuck.

Once we got into the woods though, we were able to navigate the trails with the well placed yellow, orange, red and blue blazes that took us on our 2 hour ride. I'm pretty sure we rode everything out there.

Lots of challenging rocks, some fun stunt type stuff, and very well constructed, benched in singletrack. Absolutely no standing water on the trails whatsoever, despite the massive deluge of rain we had the previous day. Kudos to the Lehigh Valley MTB Club for all their hard work. What fun! I'm pretty excited to go back and poke around some more now.

It was rough on my body though. I have sat the last 2 weeks out for some self imposed recovery, and my IT bands were screaming again after just one hour of relentless PA rocks on the singlespeed. Also weird, was the constant noise of trains, and who-knows-what-the-heck they were doing on the valley floor. It sounded like they were dumping huge boulders onto hollow steel decks with massive machinery. There was a constant racket, punctuated with the occasional low flying helicopter. I guess I've never been mountain biking in an urban setting such as this before.

The cool thing is, is that those trails are there, and a total hoot to ride.
Now go get some.

Bike 29 Spotted in Cybrespace

2007-10-18T15:04:00.000-04:00

My good buddy Greg found this on the web while trolling last night. Pretty cool!
The bike is a Kona Unit 2-9 that used to belong to our very own Maggs before he upgraded to his SIR9.

It's always amazing to me when I run across that sticker randomly. It turns up in all sorts of places. Got one of your own? Send it to me for an upcoming post. I'll accept pictures until the 31st, then post them all up on the blog.

Get cracking!

Just in time for Halloween

2007-10-15T12:57:00.000-04:00

Spiders!

These just crawled in today. Geared towards XC racing and riding, they ought to scare those they pass on the trail.

All I can say is that I'm stunned at the quality of workmanship on these frames. Very well executed indeed. The Spider is a 4" travel bike that utilizes the ever popular VPP linkage.
They are available in a variety of painted and anodized stock finishes. These medium painted frames come in at a respectable 6.41 lbs.

Bike 29 is proud to be carrying Intense.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 5.5 29er, which should be sometime next week. I will be flogging it for a few weeks, so look for a review in the not too distant future.

Truck Envy

2007-10-11T09:52:00.000-04:00

Story of my life. I keep telling myself that I don't need such a beast, but there is some part of me that really wants one. Maybe in the not too distant future...

I could use it to haul demo bikes around! Yeah! That's it!

Under Construction

2007-10-10T17:32:00.000-04:00

Now that business in the retail shop is winding down, I will actually have time to make some headway on the ever growing punch list. Here are a few:

Bike 29 Web Store
Refinements to our existing offerings, deletions of old ones and addition of new.
One of the cool things that I've been able to do, is reduce the price of our hand built Royale wheelset, Kings with Stan's rims that were once $799, are now $719.
Similar price reduction on the Singlespeed Royale.
I'm trying to make it easier and more affordable to shop, especially when buying multiple products. For instance, you'll see frame/headset/fork packages. We'll install the headset on your frame, and even cut the steerer tube of the fork to order. Measure TWICE folks!

Bike 29 Jerseys
More are ordered. We are officially sold out, unless you are a medium sized woman.

Bike 29 WOOL Jerseys
You know you want one. It's getting a lot cooler out there, especially in these parts.
Interested in getting in on the ground floor? email me...

Blog
Need to add some links.

Incoming!
Intense Spider 29ers are going to be crawling in early next week,
Fox's new F29 29er fork will be in stock.
White Brothers Fluid 110s are coming - quite the list going on these. It is a great fork.
New and improved Vassago Bandersnatches are on the way too.

Cleaning up my own personal bikes
Nope, not happening!

Snow is in the forecast for this weekend, and I am sticking to my guns on the whole not riding thing. My IT bands have stopped hurting for now, which makes it hard to go the added step from "resting" to "recovering". Like my boy, I can't sit still for long, and not riding bikes can make me very cranky.
There is still plenty of good riding to be had, this season ain't over. I have a Fox fork, and the extra sexy Intense 5.5 29er coming my way testing. Look for those next week also.

Slick, this one's for you...

2007-10-09T15:26:00.001-04:00

After what seems like forever, here is your bike!
It's a 20" Vassago Jabberwocky, with a Rock Solid White Brothers carbon fork. The color is a very apropos Short Bus Yellow, mixed up with anodized red black and silver.
I had a little fun with the color scheme, and it came out perfect. very autumnal in fact.

The massive wheels are the Bike 29 Blue Collar Special, Surly Jim Brown hubs laced to WTB rims with DT Competition spokes and red alloy nips.

Because it's a single speed, I'm sure it will give you some miles that you will definitely hate, but I really hope that you enjoy this bike, and it ultimately gives you many happy miles.

Happy birthday you old fart!
Consider this your spanking. :)

Seasons Change

2007-10-08T16:35:00.000-04:00

Lately, most of us here in VT have been feeling like we have been getting away with something.
Well, we have. Unseasonably summer like conditions have given way to the weather we should have been having all along. Last eek, we were in the high 70s, wish perfect cloudless blue skies. The trails were bone dry. The turning foliage vivid and bright.
Now it's back to our normal program, cold rain, and muddy trails. We all knew it was coming. I even went and changed the tires on my RIP to Kenda Nevegals, a big meaty tire with lots of tread and grip. They have proven themselves to be a really good tire, hooking up in just about any scenario.

This weekend was the last hurrah. A bunch of us headed up to the Kingdon Trails in East Burke and met up with a crew from Maine, the same crew that was kind enough to show us the goods over at Bradbury Mountain. We were glad to reciprocate. It poured hard the day before making trail conditions very wet in spots, but still tons of fun. The sandy nature of the soil out there certainly helped in keeping most of the trails in good shape, with only the muddiest of mud holes being a problem.
Sadly, we were too busy riding to take any good pictures, but boy, there were a couple of times when I wish the camera had caught some of the hijinx on the trail. Like the time that DA and I boosted out of Sidewinder. No one was more surprised than we were. DA was ahead of me, and overshot the turn on the biggest transition on the trail. Shot right off the trail. I was on DA's tail, and managed to grab enough brake to avoid T-boning him. Nothing like two handfuls of brakes going uphill in a panic stop.

The ride was awesome, and it made me a little sad that these days will be few and far between in these coming months. Oh well, I like snowboarding too...
The guys from Maine were all super cool, and I hope that we'll all be able to ride together again soon.

The IMBA Trail Crew popped into the shop today, to hang, and chat about some of the upcoming projects we have in the region for next year. Lots of cool stuff in the works. There is nothing better to do on a rainy day, than to go hang out at you local bike shop and BS about bikes and riding bikes.

I have some other cool things to report on in the coming days. No riding for me though, my IT bands are killing me, and I think that I'll give myself a little time to relax and recover. Like the Stone's say "What a drag it is getting old".
(they would know)

A Long Day in the Saddle

2007-10-01T08:08:00.001-04:00

What a weekend.
Sunday was the VT 50, an almost entirely off road race, with about 8000ft of climbing in beautiful southern VT. Nat, DA, JayPro and myself were representing the big wheels.
Our day started at 4am, so we could get all fueled up, and jettison the garbage before making the jump to lightspeed. We stayed at Nat's parent's house which meant we only had a 40 minute drive, vs a 2hr drive from home. It made life so much easier.

Jay's group left at 5:45, the rest of us at 6:25. Fortunately for us, it was starting to get light. I can't imagine how it was when Jay's group left in pitch pre dawn black. It was cold. It was about 40 degrees before the sun crept up. We had been on the bike for about 4 hours before the morning fog burned off.

There was a lot of climbing. Straight up sometimes. One of my major gripe, was the "noobie" factor. And I don't want to sound like an elitist snob, but if you can't handle a trail, get off to the side so that those that can, can pass without getting hung up. I was amazed at what people were loosing traction on. Maybe it was Kermit's big wheels.
I had to ditch the jacket early but kept my arm and leg warmers on for pretty much the whole ride. I love wool.

Then I had a massive chain suck, which surprised me. First time ever on Kermit. It took me about 10 minutes to dig the chain out. I was worried that if I wasn't careful, the chain would let go on me when I was far from help. It hung tight for the rest of the ride.

By this time DA and Nat were long gone. I rode the next 30 miles by myself, chit chatting with other riders along the way.

I found Nat later on at an aid station with cramps. I helped him out with some nutritional advice, and stuck with him for the rest of the ride. DA was ahead. When you get in the groove, you got to keep it going. I was lucky, my left hammy cramped on me around mile 10, but was quiet for the rest of the ride. I'd say that was a first for me.

The rest of the ride went off without incident, but I have to tell you, the last 3 miles were the hardest. Holy cow! There was quite a bit of stuff thrown in there that was pretty technical, in an almost Waterbury-esque sense. Big penalty for failure. I almost rode off a bridge because I was gawking at the dry waterfall and river bed it spanned. Only about 6 feet or so, but it would have hurt landing on all that river rock. The way in and out of the dry river bed was a bench cut that featured protruding rocks, where one mis-timed pedal stroke would have meant a trip to the bottom. Fun, but could have been done when riders were fresher, or left out completely.
I was ready to be done, but managed to find it within myself to hit the last mile with all I had left.

Nat and I finished, go tour medals, found DA, and got ourselves fed and we left. We had to make a stop at the Harpoon Brewery (it was on the way) and pick up some supplies (umm, beer). An hour and a half later, the extreme lethargy had set in. Movement was painful.
My IT bands were killing me, after the abuse they took from two days of trade show, followed by 50 miles of riding. Left knee, right ankle, ow! Lower back, ow! Shoulders and neck, ow!
There was much vitamin I and stretching before my very early bedtime.

I'm feeling better this morning, but the stress from the last week has caught up with me, and now I am sick. I'm hoping to be back to my regular self in a day or so.

I probably would not do that again on a hard tail. Kermit was a good bike, and took everything in stride, but it became increasingly more difficult for my ragged body to deal with.
I was also surprised at the overall lack of 29ers out there. I saw maybe 3 that folks I didn't know were riding. Oh well. I had a good time on mine.
.

Interbike 07

2007-09-29T12:34:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry to report that I saw only one thing I didn't already know about.

That would be the Ti Niner TSL prototype. Lots of folks were clamouring for this bike, but there are a couple of issues left for the guys at Niner to work out. AS it sits right now, there are actually 2 versions of the bike, one geared, one not, one suspension corrected, one not. Picture a Ti SIR9, and you get the idea behind one of the bikes. The other would come with it's own decaled to match DT (formerly Pace) carbon fork.

The JET was also present. The version shown will not be the production one unfortunately. The finished version will have bearings instead of bushings, and a few small refinements. I want one now, and after seeing the Kermit green version, that will have to be the color.

Also there was the WFO prototype. Boasting 6.5" of travel via Niner's ever so awesome CVA suspension, this bike is a dare to component manufacturers to step up and build some long travel stuff for the 29er crowd. It features a 150mm thru axle rear end, 83mm BB spacing and a 1.5" head tube. The only fork available at this time was the White Brothers Fluid 150.

That is where I was most disappointed to see the lack of innovation in the 29" segment. No new forks besides the Fox F29. I'll be getting mine sometime in October.

Seven had this super cool ultimate commuter bike, with a Ti front rack that will hold a case of beer. It also had wooden fenders and was really a joy to look at.

Intense had the 5.5 there. Look for a detailed test on this bike soon, as one is coming my way.

There were a couple of new tires from WTB, but really, the best part about being out there was seeing my friends from "back in the day". Once a year just isn't enough time with people that are like family. That was the single best part of the trip.

Now for the Vermont 50 tomorrow.......
ugh

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2007-09-24T08:34:00.000-04:00

Only I know when I'll be back again.

I'm off to fabulous Las Vegas for the big song and dance that is Interbike.
I'll get to see first hand all the exciting developments in 29 inched wheels, see some old industry friends, and maybe even get a chance to finally meet some folks I've only talked with electronically. I'm most excited to meet Guitar Ted in the flesh.

Flying is my least favorite activity. There is nothing like being confined in a shiny aluminum petri dish. And the proximity of the Vermont 50 so close to a trip to the phony and manufactured environment such as that of City of Sin, is going to put one heck of a strain on the mind and body.

So I'll leave you with a nice soothing picture of a RIP 9. This one is a beaut.

I have a pile of these frames on the way, in fact, they should be here when I return on Friday.

Also, Fox Forks......yes, they are coming!

Goings on

2007-09-19T08:35:00.000-04:00

This little corner of the blogosphere has been quiet for the last week. I have actually been keeping pretty busy. September has been cranking right along for us at a ridiculous pace.
The weather has been amazing too, beautiful blue skies during the day, but chilly at night. Fall is here, and winter is not too far away.

The riding has been great too. Here is a little video of yours truly tackling the "Wall" on 6 Flags.

The RIP 9 is riding really well right now. I'm trying to get out as much as I can, training for the impending Vermont 50. I'm not riding the RIP, and sadly, I will not be riding a JET9 either. The race bike will be Kermit, and I have some decisions to make on the final race spec, tire choice giving me the most trouble. I really want to try the Bontrager Dry X, but you can't exactly get those just yet.

Oh well...

Long Term Update....White Brothers Fluid 110 Fork

2007-09-16T08:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been on this fork for about 6 weeks now, and have loved every second I've spent on it.
Initially, it took me a few rides to get the settings exactly where I wanted them, but since then, it has treated me right.

The test sled is Kermit. Kermit started life as a rigid singlespeed, but has since evolved to suit my ever changing needs. Currently, it is a front sprung, 2x9 trail set up, with the newest component being the Fluid 110. It has really made a positive impact on the bike's overall handling.
Here are my findings

Construction:
White has always been known for their beautiful machine work. All of White's fork lowers consist of aluminum legs pressed into a CNC machined arch. The sliders are pressed into a CNC'd crown. The result is a stiff platform on which to build the forks around. There is also a 20mm thru-axle option for this fork.
The axle to crown measurement is 510mm, and weight is 3.97lbs.

Type:
The Fluid 110 is an air sprung fork. The left leg contains the spring, the right contains the damper. Spring preload is set via the schrader valve on the left leg.
Adjustments are compression, via the schrader valve on the top of the right leg, and rebound, found at the bottom of the right leg.
An oil bath at the bottom of each leg keeps everything well lubed.
Nice and easy.

The Damper:
One of the misleading things about the fork, is that it feels really stiff when you just push down on it. Compared to something like the Reba, it isn't buttery smooth. This is not something that you notice on the trail however. In fact, on the trail, I notice nothing. This is fantastic. I can get quite picky, especially if a component on the bike is not living up to my expectations. I always found the Reba to be a bit too plush, and sometimes my hands would take a beating.

Most forks have a shim stack, which controls the flow of oil through the damper circuit. Most of the time, these stacks are fixed to either the damper rod. Not so with this fork. The White's shim stack is coil sprung. The coil itself gives a degree of compression damping, but it can let a lot of oil trough the system when it's needed to. Confused? Think about a car's shocks. They are designed to handle everything from cracks to small potholes without changing the steering and handling characteristics.

The Set Up:
Once the main air chamber is set, you adjust the compression. Adding air to the damper will increase the overall spring rate. When I received the fork, I was given the recommendation that the damper should be around 10% of the spring rate, but I would need to fiddle with it to get it to feel the way I wanted to. I have my spring set at 70 psi, and my compression at 20 psi.
While it isn't even close to 10% of the spring, for my riding style, this works beautifully.

The Ride:
The Fluid does not have a lockout, and my riding style very "out of the saddle". I tend to stand fairly often, and drive the bike over rough terrain. A heavier compression adjustment helps keep the fork from bobbing all over the place from my body's input. I keep the air spring lighter, as our terrain features lots of repetitive bumps, roots, rocks that would bounce a heavier sprung fork out of it's intended line. It's a delicate balance.

Steering precision is on par with it's big brother, the Fluid 135. Relatively speaking, I'd say it's as stiff. It goes where pointed with no drama. There have been more than a few times where I have gotten myself hung up in some pretty precarious situations, where any move other than the right one would have meant an express ticket to the ground or worse. A yank on the bars put everything right, whereas when in similar situations riding the Reba, my fingers were always mentally crossed.

It's been a confidence inspiring experience. This fork gets 2 very big thumbs up from me.

MOOTS!

2007-09-05T08:03:00.000-04:00

I'm very pleased to announce the arrival of our first Moots. For those that do not know, Moots handcrafts their frames in Steamboat Springs Colorado, exclusively out of that most coveted element, titanium. They are truly works of art.

This is a YBB, a pivotless soft tail, that will give up just enough flex on a big bump, but will remain stiff when you need to get the power to the ground. The YBB is heralded as the first softtail, and the first ever production 29er.

I was riding full suspension DH rigs back then, so I can't comment on these claims, but I can say, that even then, I aspired to owning one of these. Moots and beauty are synonymous. The welds are flawless. The finest of details are well thought out and executed.

Sadly, this one is not mine...

Interested in getting one? Well, lead times can be long. They are hand made one at a time, and good things can never be rushed, but at the time I ordered this frame, I was given a lead time of 8 weeks. It actually was ready in 5. You can pick from an extensive selection of stock sizes and geometry, with custom options galore.

Could be a good winter project.

What a Weekend!!!

2007-09-03T20:41:00.000-04:00

Three exclamation points for a few reasons...

Let me tell you about a 23 year old rookie pitcher making his 2nd Major League start. Clay Buchholz threw a no hitter on Sept 1 2007 against the Baltimor Orioles. Mandy and I were there to witness it with and some good friends. How often do you get to see that happen? Not often.

Keller and I may have had something to do with it. We decided around the 7th inning to start making clucking chicken noises as Clay wound up. We would then scream "Buchholz!" on the release. Needles to say, it worked. We may be doing it for the rest of the season.

I count myself very lucky, not many folks get to be at the ballpark for a no hitter.

During the remainder of the weekend we connected with a new and now good friend out at Bradbury Mountain in Maine. He showed us some phenomenal trails. We had a short ride window, but he made sure every second was action packed. DA hooked up with us for the fun.

Thanks for the ride of Funness Escalation Kevin! We owe you one!

To sum up, Bradbury is a really fun place to ride. While we barely made a dent in the trails available, what we did get to ride made us yearn for more.

We'll be back.... and you can count on it!

Ongoing Review - White Bros Fluid 110

2007-09-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

I can safely say that the White Brothers Fluid 110 fork is exceeding my expectations in every way.

Having spent a few rides fiddling and twiddling with the settings, I have finally found the settings that work for me. The ride is first rate. It goes where pointed without fuss, tracks true, and eats any sized bump and asks for more. What more could you want from a fork?

An observation I have on the fork, is that you will perceive that it is not very plush when you push down on it. It feels quite firm actually. For a while, it was causing me some concern, but I always seemed to forget about it once I started pedaling. Then I figured out, that if I didn't notice it while I was actually riding, it wasn't actually a problem. I decided to call White and get the lowdown. Turns out, it's by design. Plush forks react to everything, whereas stiffer forks, when valved appropriately, react to everything appropriately.

I'll get into the techno geek stuff in a later post.

Let me say this though. It works. And I am happy.
Worth every penny.

The ride shots are from this week out in Sterling Valley in Stowe. A fortuitous schedule change made it possible for Mandy and I to go out for a spin together. Conditions were late summer perfect. Not too many days left like that one. The trails we rode were technical, rooty, rocky and tight. A great place to test out a fork's capabilities. Due to time constraints, we were forced to bail early, not getting a chance to descend what we had climbed.

Still, any ride is a good ride, and boy do we have a doozy planned for Sunday.

We'll be hitting Bradbury Mountain in Maine. It promises to be a rockin' good time.

Happy Labor Day!

My Super Sweet 3sixteen

2007-08-28T09:12:00.000-04:00

Ahhh, another year.
While I didn't get a pony, or a shiny new all black FJ Cruiser, I did get a couple of great rides in over the weekend.

On Friday, I was able to escape from the shop to get my birthday ride in at Stowe (thank you Mandy). We parked in the Lower Village, and rode out to Sterling Valley via Tony's and Tamarack. Rain the previous night, and high humidity levels ensured the rocks were dangerously slick. It was kinds nice playing in the middle of the day, without having to rush off to pick up children, or race daylight.
We saw plenty of deer.

We rolled on up to Godstreet and Seamus, only to be torn to bits by wild bramble patches on the latter trail. The saying goes, it isn't a real ride unless someone bleeds. We finished our very real ride without further incident.

Sunday was an interesting day. Violent thunderstorms had swept the area on Saturday afternoon, and caused a lot of damage. We went up to East Burke to ride the Kingdom Trails. The weather was supposed to have moved out and replaced with cooler drier air. Well, it was drizzling. So much for that.

We stuck it out and rode anyway. It was kinda fun, a throwback to the days when we used to ride in the rain all the time, before we knew about trail erosion etc. Conditions were actually quite good. I had practically zero brakes, which made for some interesting moments on the trail. I had shortened the lines on the RIP, but had no time to bleed the brakes.
Sidewinder was pretty fun. Having no brakes actually helped.

We got off the trails muddy and wet and tired. It was a lot of fun.

My Last Race

2007-08-23T08:41:00.000-04:00

You know that Fall is coming when the Catamount season is drawing to a close. Last night was my last race of the season, as next week, I am supporting the actual last race of the season.
It was Nat's last race too, as he is scheduled to have kid #2 next week.

I brought out Red 5.1 for it's second ride, and first race. I pretty much guaranteed it would rain by mounting my WTB Weirwolf LTs, and switching over to my "crusher gear" 34-19. It's actually not that bad until you encounter steep hills of any length. I found that even standing and mashing as hard as I could, forward momentum was hard to keep. I don't know how I made it.

I'm glad I only did 2 laps, I developed a searing stitch on my right side in the middle of my first lap that didn't go away until the last downhill of the second lap. Ouch.
It started to sprinkle at the beginning of the second lap, but it held to that. I thought to myself "I just knew it......!"
I pretty much spent the race alone. I knew I had to be somewhere near the front, but couldn't catch the leaders. I ended up finishing my 2 in 29 minutes, coming 3rd in my age, 7th overall.
Not too bad.